Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti has said that Article 370 of the Constitution, which guarantees special status to the state, is the nation s commitment to the people of J-K and should be honoured.The chief minister said that dialogue is the only way forward to resolve the Kashmir issue and that Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who has a “huge mandate”, can create history by changing the narrative on Jammu and Kashmir.”Article 370 is the nation’s commitment to the people of J-K and therefore should be honoured, the PDP chief wrote on Twitter.Her statement comes in the backdrop of a raging debate over the special provision, with calls for revocation of the Article along with Article 35A – relating to special rights and privileges of permanent residents of Jammu and Kashmir.In another tweet, Mehbooba said, “Democracy is a battle of ideas and dialogue is the only way forward.”She also batted for re-opening traditional routes for reviving economic activities, saying the country should take advantage of the state s geostrategic location.”The country should take advantage of J&K s geostrategic location and revive its traditional routes to foster greater economic activity,” Mehbooba said.
