Srinagar, July 21(KNS): People's Conference leader and former Deputy Mayor Sheikh Mohammad Imran on Monday said that political narratives in Kashmir are selectively amplified, while others are sidelined by both the media and the administration.
Addressing reporters, Imran questioned why leaders like him and others outside the mainstream parties face frequent court appearances and reduced security, while those associated with the National Conference (NC) and People’s Democratic Party (PDP) continue to receive privileges.
He said that his own 70-page closure report from the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which stated that no evidence was found against him, did not get media attention. “When there is a raid, it becomes a headline. But when a case is closed, there is silence,” he said.
Imran added that individuals not associated with Jamaat-e-Islami are still being portrayed as linked to it in the media, while court appearances by leaders like Sajjad Lone and others receive little to no coverage.
He said, “I go to court three times a month, but it doesn’t become a story. Others are going to courts in Delhi, Kupwara, Pulwama, and Anantnag, but there is no coverage.Click Here To Follow Our WhatsApp Channel”
Imran alleged that only select parties get favourable office locations in Srinagar. “PDP and NC leaders are provided accommodations, offices, and security.
But leaders like Irfan Panditpuri, who is with the People’s Conference, are left without space,” he said.
He said that while People's Conference received over 150,000 votes, J&K Democratic Forum 55,000 votes, and Hakeem Yaseen’s party 40,000 votes in the recent elections, they were still denied access to office space in central Srinagar. “Alliance partners of the BJP, even if they don’t secure 1,000 votes, are accommodated in Lal Chowk,” he said.
He also raised questions on selective land eviction drives. “Bulldozers are run against the poor, while land encroachments by relatives of some leaders are ignored,” he said.
Imran alleged that misinformation and disinformation have become tools of politics. “Two parties first label someone an intelligence agent, then say he is with the BJP, and finally call him a ‘mukhbir’,” he said.(KNS)