Article 370 debate intended to change discourse: Yasin Malik

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JKLF chief Yasin Malik, claiming that the design behind the article 370 debate raked up by a union minister was to change the Kashmir discourse from independence to centre-state relations, Saturday said his party would soon start a "Quit Kashmir" movement.

"There is a design behind the Indian junior minister's statement that article 370 would be revoked. There is a storm of debate over this in India and also in Kashmir. Everywhere in Kashmir people are discussing the fate of article 370," said the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front chairman.

"In the forefront of this debate are the pro-India political parties. (Chief Minister) Omar Abdullah has said Kashmir will cease to be a part of India if article 370 is scrapped," he said.

Malik contended that the Indian government or parliament does not have the legal power to revoke article 370.

"This power lies with the state legislature and it has historically been this puppet legislature that has weakened article 370 and brought Indian laws and made them applicable to Jammu and Kashmir.

"The new Indian government gave a questionnaire to Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to improve his conduct and then floated the balloon of article 370 to change the discourse of the pro-freedom movement in Kashmir to state-centre relations".

The JKLF chief announced that his party would soon start a "Quit Kashmir" movement to revitalize the local struggle for freedom.