Malik Sajid
The Jammu and Kashmir government on Tuesday appointed television journalist Suhail Bukhari as media consultant to chief minister Mehbooba Mufti, as first reported by this newspaper.
Bukhari, the former deputy editor of right wing leaning news channel NewsX, will draw a salary of 80,000 per month, much less than what he was earning in his previously job. But the new job comes with a much bigger political clout, greater responsibility and political maneuvering but most importantly- Power!
Although majority of the Kashmiris have a short-term memory loss, but they remember what few people have done on their name to achieve this power.
Those who advocated and represented secessionism, cause of Kashmir’s independence, and were calling for beheading of innocent children of Kashmiri politicians and policemen, are now sitting in the office of Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti. They are also the same people who spread rumors on Facebook, twitted provocative lines leading to protests and killings of young boys on the streets of Kashmir, when Kashmir was in flames in 2008 and 2010.
If Bukhrai’s appointment symbolizes anything: it is Mehbooba’s endeavours to achieve an impossible task- through a media war- to changing public perception on her second alliance with the right wing BJP, which will not just haunt Kashmir but her party too in coming years.
Either wise the now disgruntled Tahir Syed, a former journalist, and a small time leader of the party, who was appointed ‘Media analyst’ in the previous government, which Mehbooba father Mufti Mohammad Sayeed led until January- would have also easily done the job.
Mehboob’s new avatar has always been alarming but how soon she would destroy the younger generation of her party was unthinkable.
Bukhari and others, who have been appointed in recently by Mehbooba won’t be able to garner votes for her party in next elections. Those who could have, had been completely sidelined in the corridors of power.
Waheed ur Rehmana Para is nowhere in the picture, Tahir Syed has been forgotten, Javid Trali, the one time social media warrior in chief of PDP, has long been forgotten and humiliated, he is now working as a freelancer journalist with New Delhi based news agency IANS, and scores of others who worked day and night for PDP’s accent to power.
These young faces were also the future of PDP, who had all played an important role in the previous assembly elections. One among them, Para, ensured and made possible a remarkable electoral victory of Finance Minister Haseeb Drabu and others in last assembly elections in Pulwama district.
Given the opportunity Para will be able to win the next assembly election from any constituency in Pulwama given his connect on the ground, if the reports coming from south Kashmir are to be believed.
What is interesting is Mehboob’s archrival National Conference seems to be empowering youth, while at the same time not dislodging the old brigade. Whatever PDP could have done, after coming to power, is exactly now done by National Conference in opposition these days.
It is not clear for how much time this ideologically opposite alliance would survive but when its dusk would come Mehbooba would need these young faces to resuscitate her party in different districts. What would be the response of the response of this younger generation of PDP leaders remains to be seen.