"I will not be contesting for the post of president any longer. The elections for the post will be held on December 5. It is time for the new generation to take over the responsibilities," Abdullah told PTI.
The political parties including the People's Democratic Party, the National Conference, and the Congress had opposed this order.
The People's Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD) on Monday said assembly elections should be held only after restoration of statehood to Jammu and Kashmir and asked the Bharatiya Janata Party-led central government to honour its commitment made on the floor of Parliament.
'Article 370 is now dug 70 feet deep in the ground. It cannot come out.'
Abdullah said if the gap between the communities is to be bridged, the hateful campaigns like The Kashmir Files film and incessant Hindu-Muslim debates on the media have to be stopped.
Masoodi said all the participants are against giving voting rights to non-locals as "it will be tantamount to the disenfranchisement of the local voters."
Responding to a question, Abdullah said elections can be held whenever the government wants.
The announcement came after PAGD leaders met at Abdullah's Gupkar Road residence in Srinagar to discuss the Centre's invitation.
The appeal by the Peoples Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD) came after a delegation led by its president Farooq Abdullah met Jammu and Kashmiri Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha at the Raj Bhavan in Srinagar.
Mehbooba Mufti-led PDP accused National Conference vice president Omar Abdullah of leaving them "no option".
People's Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD) leaders, including three former chief ministers, were put under house arrest on Saturday before a protest against the proposals of Jammu and Kashmir Delimitation Commission, prompting angry reactions from political parties which said such steps will only 'incentivise and facilitate' violent agitations.
The People's Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD) swept the maiden District Development Council (DDC) polls by winning 110 seats, while the Bharatiya Janata Party emerged as the single largest party by getting 75 seats after securing the largest vote share in Jammu and Kashmir, officials said on Wednesday.
National Conference (NC) vice president Omar Abdullah Friday challenged the Bharatiya Janata Party to contest Lok Sabha polls in the Kashmir Valley, saying he will quit politics if the national party's candidates do not lose their security deposits.
The People's Democratic Party and the National Conference -- the two Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) partners in Jammu and Kashmir -- will be taking on each other on the three Lok Sabha seats in the valley.
With the People's Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD) scheduled to meet Tuesday, intra-party consultations in Jammu and Kashmir continued for a second day Monday to discuss the Centre's invitation for an all-party meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on June 24.
The Lok Sabha member from Srinagar was elected chairman of the PAGD after the first meeting of the amalgam at the residence of Peoples Democratic Party president Mehbooba Mufti.
Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's all-party meet, People's Democratic Party president Mehbooba Mufti on Tuesday said peace in the region cannot be restored without undoing the 'illegal' and 'unconstitutional' act of revocation of the special status of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir.
The Thursday's meeting will be the first between the Centre and mainstream Jammu and Kashmir politicians after the abrogation of Article 370 and the divisions of the erstwhile state into two union territories in 2019.
He accused the Apni Party, led by former People's Democratic Party leader Altaf Bukhari, and the union territory administration of using coercive tactics to buy loyalties of newly elected DDC members.
A PAGD leader said the meeting was held at the residence of alliance chairperson and National Conference president Farooq Abdullah at the Gupkar locality of Srinagar.
Jammu and Kashmir has been without an assembly since November 2018 when the then legislative assembly was dissolved by then Governor Satya Pal Malik after the People's Democratic Party-Bharatiya Janata Party coalition government fell apart earlier that year.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to chair a meeting with all political parties from Jammu and Kashmir on June 24 as part of the Centre's initiatives to bolster political processes, including holding assembly elections, in the union territory, officials said in New Delhi.
People's Democratic Party president Mehbooba Mufti said on Monday that she will not contest elections until 'both the constitutions' of India and the erstwhile state are made applicable to Jammu and Kashmir.
"Azad saab (Ghulam Nabi Azad) had spoken on behalf of all of us that we don't accept this timeline -- we don't accept delimitation, election, statehood, we want delimitation, statehood and then election. If you want to hold polls, you'll have to restore statehood first," said Omar Abdullah.
The Bharatiya Janata Party said that there should not be any politics on the Supreme Court ruling and everyone should respect it.
Authorities in Kashmir have decided not to allow 'Shab-e-Qadr' and 'Jumat-ul-Vida' congregational prayers at the historic Jamia Masjid in Sringar, a move denounced by mainstream and separatist parties.
The first-ever district development council (DDC) elections will be held in eight phases to elect 280 members in 20 districts from November 28 to December 22.
In a series of tweets, Shah also questioned Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi whether they support the People's Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD), a conglomerate of regional and national political parties in Jammu and Kashmir formed to demand the restoration of the Article 370, scrapped last year.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday said the restoration of statehood and democratic process is a very important step in Jammu and Kashmir as he avoided a question on whether his party would be part of an Opposition alliance in the Union Territory.
With no agenda announced for the meeting, the leaders from Jammu and Kashmir said they have come with an open mind.
Gupkar Alliance, which includes mainstream political parties of Jammu and Kashmir, has accepted the invitation of the all-party meeting called by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on June 24.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday held three back-to-back meetings with top officials of the security establishment to assess the prevailing situation in Jammu and Kashmir, including the recent killings of civilians, as well as reviewed arrangements for the forthcoming Amarnath Yatra for which the UT administration will provide RFID tags to every pilgrim.
Nineteen candidates saw an extremely close contest in the maiden District Development Council (DDC) polls in Jammu and Kashmir where the margin of victory was less than 100.
'I am not afraid of BJP. I am not armed with lathi or stone, let them come to me and reply to my questions which they will not'
What the election demonstrated is that the BJP has a stranglehold on most of the Hindu votes in the Union territory, observes David Devadas.
Nine seats have been proposed for STs and seven for SCs in Jammu and Kashmir, sources said. This is the first time that seats have been proposed for STs in Jammu and Kashmir, they said.
The eight-phase DDC polls, which began on November 28, is also the first election after Jammu and Kashmir's special status under Article 370 was revoked last year and it was reorganised into a Union Territory.
