Former minister and senior Peoples Democratic Party leader Chowdhary Zulfikar Ali on Saturday warned of protests if division status was not granted to the region.
Addressing a press conference at Rajouri press club, Ali while welcoming the granting of division status to Ladakh reiterated the demand for sanction of divisional status to Pir Panjal region.
He said the region was facing worst level of discrimination. “Shelving four lane project for Jammu-Poonch highway and restricting it to Akhnoor, no sanction of railway line and restricting fund allocation are glaring examples of discrimination,” he said, adding that ignoring demand of division status for Pir Panjal was a fresh example.
Flanked by former MLA Rajouri Qamar Hussain, he said that people from Pir Panjal have always kept democracy alive in the area and it was demonstrated by 90 per cent voting at the peak of militancy.
“If even after voting in such high number and remaining active in democracy, people strive to get their issues resolved then these people can also think of following some other ways outside the democratic process to get their demands fulfilled,” he warned.
When asked to explain ‘other measures’, he said that people could take to streets and stage protests if their demand was not fulfilled.