Srinagar, August 15 (KNS): Apni Party president Altaf Bukhari on Friday termed the move to seek restoration of Jammu and Kashmir’s statehood through the Supreme Court as “unwise,” questioning the identity and motives of those behind the petitions.

Speaking on the sidelines of Independence Day celebrations, Bukhari said it remained one of the “great misfortunes” of the erstwhile state that “we have no idea who suddenly comes forward and how they reach the Supreme Court, as if every petition there must be heard.”

He saidthat the same political forces or their workers may be behind the current litigation that, in his view, had acted “unwisely” in 2019 when they challenged Article 370 in the apex court. “This was a political issue that should have been resolved politically. The political leadership of the country should have engaged in dialogue, not litigation,” he said.

Bukhari argued that judicial interventions often lead to tangential questions “that have no real connection to the matter at hand,” and suggested that the law-and-order situation could be handled more effectively by a state government rather than the Centre.Click Here To Follow Our WhatsApp Channel“If law and order is under the central government, then the central government should not even be here,” he said.

While declining to delve into the matter in detail “at this stage,” the Apni Party leader vowed to “expose those forces” approaching the courts “to ensure that the people of Jammu and Kashmir do not get their rights.”

Turning to the day’s sombre news, Bukhari extended his Independence Day greetings but expressed grief over the tragedy in Kishtwar earlier in the day. “On one hand, today is a day of happiness for us; on the other, our hearts are weeping and our eyes are filled with tears,” he said. He prayed for patience and fortitude for the families of those who lost their lives in the accident and for the safe return of those still missing.(KNS)