India-held Kashmir’s assembly backs return to statehood
SRINAGAR: India-held Kashmir’s assembly endorsed the restoration of statehood on Monday, a non-binding resolution that politicians from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party condemned as “anti-national”.
It is the latest twist in the long-running contentious debate about rule ever since New Delhi revoked held Kashmir’s limited autonomy in 2019.
Omar Abdullah, who heads the occupied state’s government, introduced the resolution, saying that statehood was “our right”.
Members of the Bharatiya Janata Party staged a walkout before the vote, with many of them calling the resolution “unconstitutional” and “anti-national”.
It calls upon the government in New Delhi to ensure “the immediate and urgent restoration of full statehood to Jammu and Kashmir”.
The text also referred to resolutions demanding autonomy, passed in 2000 and 2024.
All three are not constitutionally binding.
Published in Dawn, September 29th, 2026
