J-K finance minister Haseeb Drabu sacked after saying Kashmir 'not political' issue

Jammu and Kashmir Finance Minister Haseeb Drabu resigned from his post after his comment that the dispute in the state was "not political" created a controversy.

"It (J&K) is not a political issue as far as I can see. They have been barking up the wrong tree for the last 50 or 70 years by talking about the politics of it, that the political situation has never improved. We seriously need to look at in terms of how it is a society that is in



search for itself," Drabu was quoted as saying. Drabu, a leader of the state's ruling Peoples Democratic Party, was speaking at an event called Kashmir: The Way Forward in New Delhi on March 9.

PDP chief spokesperson Rafi Ahmad Mir warned Drabu to retract his statement. Education Minister Syed Mohammad Altaf Bukhari and Sports Minister Imran Raza Ansari, who attended the event, distanced themselves from Drabu's comments, media reports said.