Altaf Bukhari launches Jammu and Kashmir Apni party, 31 leaders from PDP, NC, Congress to join

New Delhi: A new political formation named 'Apni Party' has been launched in the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir on Sunday (March 8) by a former minister of the erstwhile state, Altaf Bukhari. The new outfit, the first to be launched in Jammu and Kashmir after Centre revoked the special status of Jammu and Kashmir in August 2019. 

At least 31 political leaders, including former ministers and MLAs from PDP, National Conference (NC) and the Congress, are expected to join the party.

"It is a very happy occasion that finally we have come up with our party known as Apni Party. It puts a lot of responsibility on us as the expectations and challenges are huge. I assure people of Jammu and Kashmir that my will is strong to surmount these challenges in the interest of my people," Bukhari told exclusively to ANI.

"We are not here to sell dreams and fantasies but will always be pragmatic, honest and fair in our approach. We have resolved to create a political platform where people are real stakeholders of the political process," Bukhari said at the launch of the party. 

"After August 5, a lot has changed. People are in despair, tourism is reduced to zero and local industries have closed down. In that view, challenges are very huge. It is an endeavour to see how we can restore the semblance of these things," he added.

The party was launched especially on the occasion of International Women`s Day.

Informed sources said that the main focus of the party will be the politics of development and that the outfit will have representatives from Jammu and Kashmir, while it is also likely to include the Kashmiri Pandits.

The formation of a political outfit by a former PDP leader -- with the inclusion of leaders from the PDP and NC, and representation from pan Jammu and Kashmir -- could be seen as the beginning of the political process in the region outside of the "family rule party system."

"People here are feeling the absence of credible voices, who can take up their issues and get them sorted," he stressed.