New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday said that calls for restoring Jammu and Kashmir’s statehood cannot be viewed in isolation from the recent Pahalgam terror attack and its wider security implications.
A bench headed by Chief Justice BR Gavai made the observation while hearing a plea seeking the implementation of the court’s December 2023 order, which directed that J&K’s statehood be restored “at the earliest opportunity” after Assembly elections.
The petition has urged that the statehood be reinstated within two months, alleging that the delay amounts to a violation of India’s federal structure.
The political debate around the issue has intensified in recent weeks, with former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah writing to leaders of all political parties, urging them to introduce a bill in Parliament to restore J&K’s statehood.
Jammu and Kashmir lost its statehood in August 2019, when the Centre abrogated Article 370 and bifurcated it into the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh.
The court’s remarks underscore the challenge of balancing political aspirations with the security realities in a region that has witnessed persistent militant violence.
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