Sanjay Pandita
Early Times Report
Jammu, June 30: Within minutes of the formation of the People's Alliance for Change (PAC) — a new political front led by Sajad Lone’s Jammu and Kashmir Peoples’ Conference (JKPC), Hakim Yasin’s Peoples’ Democratic Front (PDF), and the Justice and Development Front (JDF), backed by former Jamaat-e-Islami leaders — the ruling National Conference (NC) launched a sharp attack, branding the alliance as a proxy of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Tanvir Sadiq, NC’s chief spokesperson and MLA from Zadibal, took to social media platform X to mock the newly announced alliance.
“Look who’s back — the BJP’s loyal ‘B-Team,’ freshly repackaged as an alternative. Rejected by the people, resurrected by remote. When ideology fails, desperation unites. Let’s just call them Party B Pro Max. Now with Extra Obedience :-)” he tweeted.
The National Conference's criticism comes in the wake of poor electoral performance by the alliance constituents in the 2024 Assembly elections. Sajad Lone’s JKPC managed to win only one seat — Handwara — while the Jamaat-e-Islami-backed JDF failed to secure a single seat despite fielding candidates in ten constituencies. Hakim Yasin, who had twice represented the Khansahib seat as an independent, also lost to the NC in the recent polls.
While JKPC maintains influence in parts of North Kashmir, particularly Kupwara and Pattan in Baramulla, and the Jamaat retains a scattered presence across the Valley, the electoral setback has cast doubt on the alliance’s public support.
Announced at a joint press conference in Srinagar on Monday, the People’s Alliance for Change has positioned itself as a fresh political alternative for the people of Jammu and Kashmir. Alliance leaders — Sajad Lone, Hakim Yasin, and Shamim Ahmed Thoker of JDF — unveiled the “Declaration for Change,” a political roadmap that aims to reshape the region’s political and constitutional future.
“The people of Jammu and Kashmir have suffered a lot, and we are committed to bringing about change,” Lone stated during the press conference.
The alliance emphasized its commitment to restoring Article 370, Article 35A, and full statehood to Jammu and Kashmir. The leaders stated that they would exhaust all political means to achieve these objectives, describing the PAC as a “people-led movement rooted in justice, accountability, and dignity.”
“In order to script a pathway to change, we have come together — despite ideological differences — in a spirit of unity and transformation,” the declaration said.
In a political stance, the alliance also criticized the current reservation system in the Union Territory, calling it discriminatory and anti-Kashmir.
“The present system of reservations is a regional issue and systematically discriminates against the people of Kashmir. Recent recruitment lists reveal an unambiguous pattern, with up to 90% of jobs going to the Jammu region,” the declaration alleged.
The PAC claimed that only the Peoples’ Conference had previously dared to raise this issue and that the JDF now joins in voicing the same concerns. The declaration also accused traditional parties of remaining silent on the issue and being complicit in what it described as “a crime against the people of Kashmir.”
As the political discourse intensifies, the emergence of PAC has set the stage for a fresh round of alignments and confrontations in Jammu and Kashmir’s evolving political landscape. |
