Srinagar: The People’s Alliance for Gupkar Declaration, the seven party amalgams of main Kashmir parties appointed National Conference Chief Farooq Abdullah as its President, PDP President Mahabooba Mufti as Vice- President on Saturday.

The People’s Alliance for Gupkar Declaration decided the flag of the erstwhile the State of J & K would be the flag of the alliance. They are demanding the restoration of J & K’s Special Status. The decisions came at a meeting of alliance constituents, some of whom are arch rivals, at Mufti’s Gupkar road residence here. It’s not an anti-national alliance; it is anti- BJP alliance… BJP wants to divide the country, our aim is to ensure that the rights of the people of J & K and Ladakh are restored, said Farooq Abdullah.

Congress appeared to distance itself from the PAGD with J & K PCC President G.A. Mir staying away from two meetings of the conglomerate on October 15^th, when the alliance for forged, and on Saturday. sources close to the regional Congress unit, said this was because of what they described as a twist in the objective of the basic demand for the restoration of Special Status to J & K, a reference to recent statements from Mahabooba Mufti to the effect that she would raise the Tri- colour only when the J & K flag, too, was allowed to fly. Congress has raised the issue of the nullification of Article 370 in Parliament but the PDP Rajya Sabha members had not spoken a word on it in the Upper House.