New Delhi: Hours after the Supreme Court upheld the Central Government's decision to abrogate Article 370, Kashmir’s chief cleric and Hurriyat chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq called it a "sad" move but said the verdict was not unexpected, "particularly in the present circumstances."
Taking to ETV Bharat over the phone, the chief of the moderate faction of the Hurriyat Conference said, "It's sad but the verdict was not unexpected, particularly in the present circumstances. Those people who at the time of the partition of the subcontinent, facilitated the accession of J&K and reposed their faith in the promises and assurances given to them by the Indian leadership must feel deeply betrayed."
"For the rest, the state as it existed in August 1947 remains divided on the ceasefire line, and hence continues to be a bleeding humanitarian and political issue, begging redressal", he said.
Mirwaiz's reaction came after the Supreme Court announced its much-awaited verdict on the batch of petitions challenging the abrogation of Article 370. The Article, which bestowed special status on the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir, was a "temporary provision", a 5-judge Constitution bench of the apex court ruled and unanimously upheld the Centre's August 5, 2019 decision to abrogate provisions of Article 370, while directing restoration of statehood for Jammu and Kashmir at the earliest and holding of the assembly elections by September 30, 2024.
With the Supreme Court's ruling, experts opine that Article 370 and 35-A have now become a thing of the past. Kashmiri leaders including former Chief Ministers Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti expressed disappointment but added that "it was not the end of the road." At a time when all the separatist leaders in the valley have been put behind bars or are facing the wrath of the Central Agencies since August 5, 2019, the future of the Hurriyat Conference also hangs in the balance.
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