Pakistani Defence Minister Khawaja Asif stated that Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif government and the Congress-National Conference had been aligned on issue of restoring Article 370 in Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir.

This comment came amid Assembly elections in the region, the first since the special status of the former state had been revoked in 2019.

In an interview with Geo News, Asif expressed confidence in the alliance’s chances of winning the elections and assuming control of the occupied territory.

“They (the alliance) have made it an election issue. Pakistan and the National Conference-Congress alliance are on the same page in occupied Jammu and Kashmir to restore Article 370 and 35A,” Asif said.

The National Conference committed to restoring Article 370, while the Congress has not addressed the issue at all in its manifesto. Instead, the Congress has focused on its promise to restore full statehood for Jammu and Kashmir.

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The repeal of Article 370 and the splitting of the former state into two union territories has stirred strong emotions among the people of Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir, particularly in the Valley.

This topic has been prominently highlighted in the manifestos of both the National Conference and Mehbooba Mufti’s PDP.