[caption id="attachment_15971" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Omar Abdullah's Manifesto Restoration of Article 370 and Talks with Pakistan[/caption] Srinagar, August 20: Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister and National Conference (JKNC) leader Omar Abdullah released his party's manifesto on Monday following the announcement of assembly elections. Abdullah stated that if his government is formed, they will work to restore Article 370 and Article 35A in Jammu and Kashmir. The National Conference's manifesto includes 12 guarantees, such as restoring the statehood of Jammu and Kashmir and implementing the autonomy resolution passed by the previous assembly in 2000. The manifesto also promises to repeal the Public Safety Act (PSA) and release political prisoners. The BJP has criticized the manifesto as anti-national. Abdullah mentioned in a media interaction that if his party comes to power, they will strive to initiate dialogue between India and Pakistan. He referenced former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's remark, stating that while friends may change, neighbors do not.

Farooq Abdullah's Earlier Comments

Earlier in May, Farooq Abdullah, former Chief Minister and Omar Abdullah's father, had also referred to Pakistan. In response to Rajnath Singh's statement about merging Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (POK) with India, Farooq Abdullah remarked that Pakistan is not weak and has nuclear capabilities that could be used against India.

Jammu and Kashmir Election Announcement

The Election Commission announced on August 16 that the Jammu and Kashmir assembly elections will be held in three phases. There are a total of 90 assembly seats, with a majority mark of 46. The gazette notification for the first phase of elections will start on August 20, and the last date for nominations for the first phase is August 27.

Congress's Alliance Efforts

The Congress party is attempting to form an alliance with the National Conference (NC) and PDP for the Jammu and Kashmir assembly elections. The aim of the alliance is to defeat the BJP. The party believes that aligning with ideologically similar parties will be beneficial.