NEW DELHI: Pakistani defence minister Khawaja Asif has said that the Shehbaz Sharif government and the Congress-National Conference alliance were on the same page on the issue of restoration of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir. The remark comes in the midst of Assembly elections in J&K, the first since the erstwhile state’s special status was scrapped in 2019. In an interview with Geo News, Khawaja Asif said there was a “high chance” that the Congress-National Conference alliance would win the Assembly polls and come to power in the Union Territory. “They (the alliance) have made it an election issue. Pakistan and the National Conference-Congress alliance are on the same page in Jammu and Kashmir to restore Article 370 and 35A,” Asif said. While the National Conference has vowed to restore Article 370, the Congress has been completely silent about it and has not even mentioned it in its manifesto. The Congress has, however, promised its commitment towards restoring full statehood status to Jammu and Kashmir. The revocation of Article 370 and bifurcation of the erstwhile state into two union territories has remained an emotive issue for the people of Jammu and Kashmir, particularly those in the Valley. The restoration of Article 370 has prominently featured in the manifestos of the National Conference and Mehbooba Mufti’s PDP The remark gave the BJP fresh ammo to hit out at Congress, saying the party was always seen on the side of those “inimical to India’s interest”. “Pakistan, a terrorist state, endorses Congress and National Conference’s position on Kashmir. How is it that, from (Gurpatwant) Pannun to Pakistan, Rahul Gandhi and his Congress are always seen on the side of those inimical to India’s interest?” BJP IT cell chief Amit Malviya tweeted. Recently, Khalistani separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun endorsed Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s remarks on the “existential threat” to the Sikh community in India. BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla also pounced upon the Congress, saying “the cat is out of the bag”. “Was there ever any doubt? For the sake of opposing PM Modi, they can even stand with Pakistan,” he said
