Karra Says NC “Created” Hurriyat, Accuses Party of Enforcing Boycott Politics

Srinagar, May 1, KNT: Senior People’s Democratic Party leader Tariq Hamid Karra on Wednesday launched a sharp counterattack on the National Conference, alleging that the party was historically responsible for the creation of the Hurriyat Conference and continues to benefit from election boycotts in Kashmir.

Reacting to remarks made by NC leader Ali Mohammad Sagar blaming Mufti Mohammad Sayeed for the split in the All Parties Hurriyat Conference, Karra said the National Conference must first answer which political force laid the foundation for Hurriyat’s emergence.

He accused the NC of cultivating public disillusionment and indirectly reinforcing boycott politics for electoral advantage. Karra, while talking to the news agency Kashmir News Trust, said that the party survives on voter alienation and would struggle politically if it actively encouraged public participation in elections.

The PDP leader further alleged that the National Conference’s past positions, including advocacy around plebiscite, shaped political narratives that later evolved into separatist formations. He claimed the party abandoned those positions once it attained power.

Karra also revisited the party’s electoral trajectory, pointing to what he described as a steady decline in NC’s seat share over successive elections. In contrast, he asserted that the PDP’s support base has expanded.

On governance, Karra said developmental initiatives undertaken during the PDP’s tenure contrasted with what he termed unfulfilled promises by the National Conference in recent years.

The exchange marks another round in the intensifying political confrontation between the two regional parties ahead of future electoral contests in Jammu and Kashmir. [KNT]