Regional parties used youth as scapegoats for their political gains: Ataf Bukhari

Srinagar, Apr 17: Apni Party President Syed Mohammad Altaf Bukhari, on Wednesday, said that “traditional political parties and their leaders have been responsible for spilling innocent blood, as they have made youth scapegoats for their own political dividends, using deceptive narratives and emotional sloganeering over the past several decades.” He urged the young population in J&K to “join hands with the Apni Party in order to shape a brighter future of this region and its people. “
He made these comments today while addressing an event at the party headquarters in Srinagar. The event was organised to welcome a large number of youth from Srinagar and Pampore into the party fold.
Addressing the occasion, Syed Mohammad Altaf Bukhari blamed the traditional parties and their leaders for being responsible for the deaths and destruction of J&K.
He said, “These parties and leaders deceived our youth with misleading political narratives and emotionally charged slogans, and by setting unattainable goals. They paved the way for violence and bloodshed here. As a result, we have tragically lost thousands of our young people over the years and decades. The irony persists as the families of these victims continue to suffer, with a significant number of youths still imprisoned.”
“On the other hand, the politicians who used the young population as cannon fodder for their political ambitions created empires and accumulated riches for their families during this time,” he added.
Syed Mohammad Altaf Bukhari urged the youth to join hands with the Apni Party to contribute their efforts to strengthen democracy and democratic institutions in Jammu and Kashmir.
He said, “Together, we can change the scenario of J&K for the better. I assure you that the Apni Party will ensure that democracy and democratic institutions in Jammu and Kashmir are strengthened, and the people receive all the rights guaranteed to citizens by the constitution of the country.”
Assuring people that the Apni Party would always stand by the truth and never mislead them, he said, “Our politics is based on truth and honesty. Unlike traditional parties, we will never mislead people for our political advantage.”
Reiterating the party’s fundamental principles, Syed Mohammad Altaf Bukhari said, “Apni Party was established post-August 2019, when the entire J&K region was under lockdown and in a state of significant chaos. At that time, people were apprehensive that after losing Article 370 and the statehood, this region would face demographic changes, potentially altering the Muslim-majority identity of in J&K. Ironically, the traditional politicians who had been in power for over 70 years chose to remain silent during this testing period. We could have also chosen to be silent spectators during that time, but we decided to step forward and stand by our people in those challenging times. We launched the party and traveled to Delhi to meet with leaders in the central government. We successfully convinced them to preserve the exclusive rights of the people of J&K over jobs and land here.”
Those who joined the party today included prominent social and political activist from Srinagar’s Sannat Nagar, Shujaat Wani; entrepreneur Mukhtar Ahmad from Dalgate; Zahoor Ahmad Sheikh from Dalgate; Shahid Ahmad Yatoo from Pampore; Asif Ahmad Yatoo from Pampore; social and political activist Tabish Mushtaq from Wanabal, along with their associates.
Besides Syed Mohammad Altaf Bukhari, the prominent party leaders who were present on the occasion included party’s Media Advisor Farooq Andrabi, Senior Vice President for Srinagar and party In-charge for the Habba Kadal constituency Jeelani Hamid Kumar, Provincial President of the party’s Youth Wing Khalid Rathore, party in charge for the Chanapora constituency Mohammad Ashraf Dar, Zone President Chanapora Aijaz Ahmad Khan, Youth Zonal President of Chanapora constituency Irshad Ahmad Shah, Ward President Budshah Nagar Mohammad Jamal, Media Coordinator Dr Naqeeb Raja, Senior Worker Farooq Ahmad Khan, Senior Leader Syed Muzamil Rizvi, and others.