J&K Finance Minister Haseeb Drabu Sacked For Remark That Kashmir Is A Social Not A Political Problem

Economic Times quoting sources has reported that Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) Chief Minister (CM) Mehbooba Mufti has decided to sack the state's finance minister Haseeb Drabu.

The top leadership of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) made the decision to sack Drabu from his ministerial post over his reported remarks that Kashmir “isn’t a political issue.”

At a function in New Delhi last week, Drabu reportedly said that “Kashmir should not be seen as a conflict state or a political problem but as a society with social issues”. Drabu’s remarks evoked widespread criticism across the political spectrum in the state. The opposition National Conference and separatist leader Yasin Malik had come down severely on Drabu for his statement . On Sunday, CM Mehbooba Mufti’s uncle and key leader of the party Sartaj Madni had urged Drabu to “retract the statement immediately”.

The decision to drop Drabu by the PDP leadership, including the CM and senior party leaders was apparently based on their assessment that Drabu's  speech in New Delhi went against the party line.

The Tribune quoted a top PDP leader confirming the development “Yes, PDP has decided to drop Drabu.”

With deep expertise in the financial domain, Drabu, who is a trained economist with a PhD degree in Economics from Jawaharlal Nehru University and a former chairman of J&K Bank, took over as the Finance Minister of Jammu and Kashmir when PDP-BJP alliance government was formed in the state in 2015.

Drabu was credited by Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley for his constructive role in the design and rollout of Modi government's ambitious Goods and Services Tax (GST).