Mehbooba Mufti Announces August 5 Protests Across J&K for Article 370 Restoration

People's Democratic Party (PDP) chief Mehbooba Mufti on Tuesday announced that her party would organise peaceful protests at district headquarters across Jammu and Kashmir on August 5, demanding the restoration of Article 370 and Article 35A and a peaceful resolution to the Kashmir issue.

The announcement came as the PDP observed its 27th foundation day at the party headquarters in Srinagar. Addressing a press conference, the former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister said party workers would hold peaceful demonstrations across the Union Territory to press for their demands.

"All our people, who are sitting here, will hold peaceful protests in their districts on August 5 for the restoration of Article 370, 35A, and peaceful resolution of the Kashmir issue," Mehbooba said.

The PDP chief also expressed regret over her recent remarks at Jantar Mantar, which had triggered criticism from Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and other political leaders. Mehbooba said she apologised if her comments concerning violence against protesters in Kashmir had hurt anyone.

Mehbooba had visited Jantar Mantar on July 23 to extend support to a protest led by the Cockroach Janta Party over alleged examination irregularities. While opposing police action against student protesters in Delhi, the PDP had said the situation in Kashmir was different as security forces were engaged in countering militancy.

Her remarks subsequently drew criticism from rival political parties, including Abdullah's National Conference (NC), which accused her of justifying the use of force against protesters.

The PDP, however, rejected the criticism and alleged that the ruling NC had used artificial intelligence to distort and misrepresent Mehbooba's statement.

The announcement of the August 5 protests is significant as it comes nearly seven years after the Centre abrogated Jammu and Kashmir's special constitutional status in 2019.