People's Alliance for Change launched in Kashmir to speak same language in Srinagar, Jammu and Delhi

Srinagar: Three Kashmir-based political parties -- Jammu and Kashmir People’s Conference (JKPC), People’s Democratic Front (PDF) and the recently formed Justice and Development Front (JDF) -- on Monday announced the formation of People's Alliance for Change (PAC).

Describing the PAC as an alternative platform representing the oppressed people of the region, they said it will strive for restoration of statehood, Article 370 and 35 (A) with justice and dignity.

JKPC president Sajad Gani Lone announced the formation of the PAC at his official residence in the presence of PDF president Hakeem Mohammad Yaseen, JDF president Shamim Ahmad Thokar and former minister Abdul Gani Vakil. The JDF was formed by select members of the banned Jamaat-e-Islami who also unsuccessfully fought the recent assembly election in J&K.

“We have experienced pain and not inflicted it. This alliance addresses the barrenness of the political landscape of J&K and provides an alternative electoral platform to the people,” Lone said at a presser in Srinagar. The leaders signed a joint “declaration of change” which they said would be the roadmap for the alliance.

The JKPC chief said there had been no closure to the decades of pain “because those who inflicted it still rule”. “That must end. The real victims must now represent the pain they carry,” he asserted.

The PAC called for general amnesty for political prisoners and conflict-affected youths, the reintegration of the marginalised and an end to exclusionary politics.

“Up to 90 percent of new government job appointments have gone to the Jammu region as the reservation is systematically biased against Kashmiris and traditional political parties are enabling injustice through inaction,” Lone said.

He also targeted chief minister Omar Abdullah, referring to him as the “BJP’s chief minister” who often goes to pay “deferential respects” and gift Kashmiri shawls to BJP leaders.

Lone urged the central government to give “compassion and magnanimity” a chance and to give up the policy of “vindictiveness”.

JDF president Thokar said that despite ideological differences among its constituents, the PAC shares a vision, value and goal. “Those who have inflicted pain cannot claim to represent us. We realised we cannot move ahead alone. We invite all like-minded parties to join this platform,” he said. “Pain is not a commodity to be traded in the marketplace; it is something one must live through to truly comprehend.”

PDF chairman Yaseen asserted that the PAC stands firmly on the foundation of transparency and an unwavering commitment to restoring the dignity of the people.

“Our resolve is clear: we will not indulge in double-speak, saying one thing in Kashmir, another in Jammu and something entirely different in New Delhi. This alliance is built on a unified, people-centric agenda, crafted through consensus and aimed particularly at the vast majority who have borne the brunt of decades of suffering. That chapter of pain must end — and it will,” he said.

JKPC general secretary Molvi Imran Reza Ansari said that the alliance is rooted in justice and equality which, he said, have become essential in the present times. “Today, the rights of the people are being obliterated. Had the present government — and those before it — been truly committed to public welfare and sincerely addressed the grievances and aspirations of the people, there would have been no need for the formation of this alliance,” he said, adding that “whosoever speaks the truth here is jailed”.

Meanwhile, the ruling National Conference and opposition BJP hit out at the PAC. The NC labelled it as the BJP's proxy while the BJP subbed it for demanding restoration of Article 370 and befooling people.

The NC legislator Tanvir Sadiq in an oblique reference to the PAC wrote, "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." Sadiq further wrote on X, "Let’s just call them Party B Pro Max, Now with Extra Obedience."

The BJP's general secretary in J&K, Ashok Koul, said that demanding restoration of Article 370 is day dreaming. "They are misleading people. No power can restore Article 370," Koul told reporters here.