Srinagar, 15-04-2025: In a scathing critique of the National Conference (NC), Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) leader Iltija Mufti on Tuesday accused the ruling party in Jammu and Kashmir of betraying the trust of Kashmiri Muslims and failing to oppose the controversial Waqf Amendment Act. She charged the NC with political opportunism and alleged that it has compromised on core issues affecting the Muslim community, both within the region and across the country.
Speaking to reporters in Srinagar, Iltija Mufti questioned why NC president Dr. Farooq Abdullah and his party did not take a stand in the Legislative Assembly against the Waqf Amendment Act. “Jammu and Kashmir is the only Muslim-majority region in India, and yet the NC failed to even bring a resolution opposing the Waqf Bill. This silence is not just a betrayal of Kashmiri Muslims, but also of the Muslim community across India, which continues to look towards J&K for leadership and moral support,” she asserted.
Responding to Dr. Farooq Abdullah’s recent remarks blaming the PDP for converting the Jammu and Kashmir Muslim Auqaf Trust into a state-controlled Waqf Board, Iltija dismissed the allegations as “selective and misleading”. She said that the structural change of Auqaf into the J&K Waqf Board was not initiated during the tenure of her father, late Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, and that the narrative being peddled by NC is mere political propaganda.
“Farooq Abdullah should first clarify why his party, which held a majority in the Assembly with over 50 MLAs and had Omar Abdullah as Chief Minister, failed to oppose the Waqf Amendment Act. If states like Karnataka, West Bengal, and Tamil Nadu could bring resolutions against the Act, what stopped the NC-led government in J&K from doing the same?” she asked.
Iltija went on to accuse the NC of having a covert alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), claiming that this alleged understanding has resulted in deliberate silence on issues like the Waqf Amendment and abrogation of Article 370. “The NC’s behavior suggests a larger deal with the BJP. Why else would Omar Abdullah be seen accompanying Union Minister Kiren Rijiju at public events, while simultaneously avoiding any confrontation on critical matters like the Waqf Act?” she questioned.
She further pointed out the inconsistency in the NC’s stand on legal matters, noting that the party cited the sub-judice status of the Waqf issue as a reason for inaction, while it continues to vocally campaign on Article 370, which is also under judicial consideration. “Such selective justification exposes the party’s hypocrisy and lack of political will,” she remarked.
The PDP leader also questioned the credibility of NC’s opposition stance within the Assembly, alleging that while PDP MLAs attempted to raise the issue of Waqf, NC legislators remained conspicuously silent. “If they were genuinely unhappy with the Speaker’s conduct, they should have tabled a no-confidence motion. Their inaction reveals that their outrage is staged and hollow,” she added.
Iltija asserted that the NC is not only failing to resist the BJP’s broader ideological agenda but is actively enabling it by ‘normalising’ the disempowerment of Muslims in the region. “This party has thrown Kashmiri Muslims under the bus. Worse still, it is complicit in diluting the political and religious rights of the community by not speaking up,” she said.
Referring to recent comments by BJP’s Chief Whip in the J&K Assembly, Sunil Sharma, who stated that restoration of statehood was already on the BJP’s agenda, Iltija responded firmly, clarifying that PDP’s aspirations go far beyond statehood. “We are fighting for the restoration of our constitutional identity — our own laws, our own flag, and our own dignity. Statehood is merely a smokescreen created by the BJP, and it is unfortunate that the NC has adopted that narrative,” she concluded.