Kashmir MLA ‘boycotts’ L-G’s drug campaign after demolition drive in his constituency

A legislator from north Kashmir on Wednesday (May 13, 2026) boycotted the anti-drug campaign of Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha after the police demolished the house of a local from his constituency in north Kashmir “in an eight-year-old case where the accused was acquitted and not convicted”.

Sheikh Khursheed, a leader of the Awami Ittehad Party (AIP) who represents the Langate constituency in north Kashmir, did a Facebook live of the demolition of a two-storey house on May 11 and later decided to boycott the L-G’s foot march in north Kashmir’s Baramulla and Handwara “as a mark of protest”. 

“The so-called demolition drive of the BJP and the L-G is aimed at making locals homeless in the name of an anti-drug drive. There are violations of the directions of the Supreme Court (SC) that no house will be demolished without notice or an order. In this case, officials I spoke to informed me they had no orders. Still, bulldozers demolished the house,” said MLA Khursheed, who is also the brother of incarcerated Member of Parliament Engineer Rashid.

He said the affected family had managed to construct the house after “selling a piece of land”.

“The family was not able to even shift clothes or utensils. All are buried under the debris. The sin of the family is that one of the members was booked under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act eight years ago, was acquitted later and is currently working as an employee in Srinagar. He is not a convict,” said Mr. Khursheed. 

He said the L-G took out a foot march to curb the drug menace in Kashmir. “If he is worried about our health, why is liquor not being banned too?” said Mr. Khursheed. 

Mr. Khursheed urged the Inspector General of Police (IGP) and the Superintendent of Police (SP) to stop “setting targets for demolitions” in districts. “We will knock on the doors of the High Court. People of Langate will not tolerate such drives,” said Mr. Khursheed.

He also asked elected representatives of other parties to question the L-G over what he described as “arbitrary actions”. “Why are they silent over the issue? Why is J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah silent?” he said.

The MLA sought action against bureaucrats and politicians involved in encroachments in J&K. “Senior BJP leaders have encroached land and constructed houses illegally in Jammu. The Chief Minister promised action on the floor of the assembly. Why was no action taken?” said Mr. Khursheed.

Meanwhile, L-G Sinha on Wednesday (May 13, 2026) joined the ‘Nasha-Mukt Jammu Kashmir Campaign’ Padyatra in Kupwara and addressed a gathering. “For decades, people in J&K saw drugs and terrorism as separate threats. But they are not two problems; they are the two heads of the same snake. One head makes money through drugs while the other uses that money to fuel terrorism,” said Mr. Sinha.

In the past one month of the campaign, official figures said 700 locals involved in the drug menace have been arrested and dozens of houses have either been demolished or attached by the police.

On a demolition drive in the Langate area, the police said it demolished two shops and two residential rooms of “notorious NDPS accused” Abdul Rehman Bhat, a resident of Shartpora Langate. According to the police, Bhat constructed the house “illegally on Kahcharie (community) land”.

“The demolition drive was carried out in the presence of the Executive Magistrate 1st Class and other concerned officials after completing all legal formalities. The property was identified as being linked to narcotics-related activities and formed part of the broader offensive against drug traffickers and their support infrastructure,” the police said.