PDP wants Siachen glacier to be peace park

SRINAGAR: The Peoples Democratic Party wants the Siachen glacier to be made a peace park. Other suggestions in the PDP manifesto released in Srinagar on Friday include coordination with PoK for projects and a commission to regulate trade and tariff with it. The party has also said Article 370 should be used to protect the state’s special status and identity.

“Article 370 impacts everything from political discourse to personal response, from economy to emotions, from society to sensibilities and from institutions to ideologies,” economist Dr Haseeb Drabu told reporters while unveiling the manifesto. “Since it is required to empower the state and help deal with the issues of identity, borders and governance, we will use the Article itself to restore the original special status.”

The thrust of the manifesto has ben on economic growth. “We will follow the path-breaking reconnect between the two halves of Kashmir by ensuring complete connectivity, by making borders irrelevant and create regional free trade area and common economic market,” he said. Prior to that the party promised to intervene in cross-LoC trade and monetise it, open more routes, increase items, restore telecommunication between the two sides, make the trade bankable and establish a dispute resolution forum.

Apart from a free-trade zone, the party aims to create international universities. J&K can do this because Article 370 permits it to legislate on such issues.

The party promised creating of three organic valleys – one each in Chenab (Jammu), Jhelum (Kashmir) and Nubra (Ladkah) – and give focused attention to five distinct regions for diverse endemic specialties: Hydropower in Chenab valley, manufacturing and trade in Jammu, biotech in Pir Panchal valley, non-convention energy in Indus valley and crafts and tourism in Jhelum Valley.