HELD SRINAGAR: Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir's (IIOJ&K) regional assembly on Monday endorsed the restoration of federal statehood, a non-binding resolution that politicians from Prime Minister Narendra Modi's party condemned as "anti-national". It is the latest twist in the long-running contentious debate about rule in the disputed Himalayan territory of around 13 million people, ever since Modi's Hindu nationalist government revoked IIOJ&K's limited autonomy in 2019.

Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, who introduced the resolution, said statehood was the territory's "right". Members of Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party staged a walkout before the vote, with many of them calling the resolution "unconstitutional" and "anti-national". It calls upon the government in New Delhi, which has repeatedly promised restoration of statehood at an "appropriate time", to ensure "the immediate and urgent restoration of full (federal) statehood to Jammu and Kashmir".

The text also referred to resolutions demanding federal autonomy, passed in 2000 and 2024. All three are not constitutionally binding. In 2024, IIOJ&K elected its first government since it was brought under New Delhi's direct control, led by Abdullah's National Conference party.

But the local government has limited powers. The territory continues to be, for all practical purposes, governed by a Delhi-appointed administrator.