JAMMU: Syed Muhammed Altaf Bukhari, the head of the Apni Party, declared on Thursday that if his party were elected to power in Jammu and Kashmir, they would treat the minorities fairly. Altaf Bukhari gave the group, headed by Dalbir Singh, the district president of Minority Cell, his word that he would treat Jammu and Kashmir’s minorities fairly in terms of their advancement in society, politics, and education. The province president of Jammu Manjit Singh and senior vice president of the Apni Party, Ghulam Hassan Mir, were also present at the meeting with the Apni Party’s Minority Cell delegation. The delegation discussed the Sikh community and the preservation of the cultural history of Jammu and Kashmir’s minority groups in this meeting, which was a pointless discussion. They reported that, regardless of geographic or religious affiliation, a sizable portion of the population in Jammu and Kashmir spoke Punjabi. During the discussion, the deputation told the head of the Apni Party, “The language is a binding force for the communities and therefore, it must be promoted and recognised as one of the official languages in Jammu and Kashmir.” Additionally, they asked for the reservation of two seats in the Legislative Assembly, one in each of the regions of Jammu and Kashmir. Altaf Bukhari reaffirmed his party’s commitment to the advancement of minorities in Jammu and Kashmir after listening to them. Regarding the demand for the Punjabi language, he gave the delegation the assurance that it would be taken into consideration and that the Apni Party had it on its agenda. He offered his support, stating that the request for two seats in the Legislative Assembly was legitimate as well. “It should be accepted by granting two Legislative Assembly seats each in Jammu and Kashmir regions to the Sikh community,” he stated.
