Kulgam, November 3, 2026: Advocate Zaman Irshad Parray today welcomed Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi’s decision to sever ties with the National Conference, describing the departure as a principled rejection of a leadership that, he said, had repeatedly betrayed the trust of the Kashmiri people. Ruhullah announced his resignation at a public gathering in Budgam today.
“A person of principles must eventually choose between loyalty to an organisation and loyalty to the people. Breaking with the National Conference is a meaningful step; its ultimate significance will depend on the sincerity and consistency of what follows,” Parray said.
Referring to the address by Muhammad Ashraf Mattoo, father of Tufail Mattoo, at the gathering, Parray said his continuing demand for justice had reopened a wound that remains deeply embedded in Kashmir’s collective conscience. Tufail was killed by a tear-gas shell in June 2010, during Omar Abdullah’s tenure as Chief Minister.
“Hearing Shaheed Tufail Mattoo’s father has once again scratched open the wound of truth in the hearts of Kashmiri youth. We have repeatedly maintained that Omar Abdullah cannot escape political and moral accountability for the bloodshed during his government. When we speak of blood on the hands of those who governed, we speak of that unresolved responsibility—a responsibility that speeches, electoral victories and the passage of time cannot erase.”
Parray accused the National Conference, And PDP and their political allies of protecting an established order that had repeatedly failed young Kashmiris.
“Their rivalries have changed, their alliances have shifted, but bereaved families continue to wait for answers. Their politics bears the stain of young lives lost under their governments. Kashmir’s youth deserve justice, dignity and a future beyond this cycle of grief and broken promises.”
He said any sincere effort to reform Kashmir’s politics within India’s constitutional framework deserved consideration and constructive support.
“If sincere people undertake this grave responsibility within the Indian Structure, it falls upon all of us to support and contribute. But that sincerity must withstand scrutiny. It must be demonstrated through conduct, accountability and sustained public service, rather than becoming another performance for power.”
Calling for peaceful democratic change, Parray concluded:
“The Kashmiri people must consign the politics of NC and PDP to history through the ballot. Families who have buried their children deserve a politics that protects the living, honours those lost and answers for the past.”
Issued by:
Office of Advocate Zaman Irshad Parray
