Had NC not 'rigged' 1987 polls, Hizb chief Syed Salahuddin would have been J-K CM: AIP

Srinagar, Nov 7 (PTI) The Awami Ittehad Party on Friday blamed the National Conference for the current situation in Jammu and Kashmir, stating that Pakistan-based Hizbul Mujahideen supremo Syed Salahuddin would have been the chief minister if the current ruling party had not "rigged" the 1987 assembly polls.

"The rigging changed the political landscape forever and pushed Kashmir into turmoil," Abrar Rashid, the son of jailed Lok Sabha MP Sheikh Abdul Rashid who is widely known as Engineer Rashid, said while addressing a poll rally in Budgam, which will head for a by-election on November 11.

The Awami Ittehad Party held a public rally at Soibugh in Budgam to mobilise support for party candidate Nazir Ahmad Khan.

Hizbul Mujahideen supremo Syed Mohammad Yusuf Shah, also known as Syed Salahuddin, is a resident of Soibugh in central Kashmir.

Salahuddin contested the 1987 polls from Amira Kadal seat here as a Muslim United Front (MUF) candidate. The MUF was an alliance of several Islamist parties in the Valley.

He lost to National Conference candidate Ghulam Mohiuddin Shah.

Addressing the gathering, Abrar Rashid launched a scathing attack on the National Conference, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for "decades of political betrayal and damage" to Jammu and Kashmir.

Taking a dig at the PDP leadership, Abrar said the party "brought destruction" to Jammu and Kashmir by aligning with the BJP "solely for power".

"The PDP's decisions inflicted a lasting damage on the political and social fabric of the region," he said.

Abrar also held the BJP responsible for "deepening alienation and exploiting Kashmir's political sensitivities", calling it a party that "thrives on division" and not development. PTI SSB RUK RUK