Jammu, Nov 23 (PTI) Several social activists on Wednesday joined the Jammu and Kashmir Apni Party here in the presence of its president Altaf Bukhari, a party spokesperson said.

Bukhari said the joining of former general secretary of the Samba Bar Association Lovely Mangol, along with his supporters, and other social activists will strengthen the party in the district.

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"People have rejected the divisive politics in Jammu and Kashmir which was responsible for seven decades of suffering," he said.

"The people of J&K have been the victim of the traditional political parties who promoted divisive politics and resorted to emotional sloganeering," he added.

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Bukhari, a former minister, said his party is committed to equitable development of different regions of the Union territory.

"We believe that the issues of Jammu as well as Kashmir regions are similar and their concerns must be addressed by providing them equal opportunity with regard to development and employment," he said.

He said unemployment has risen over the past several years and it should be addressed before it is too late.

Accusing the the Lieutenant Governor-led administration of failure on all fronts, he said, "The bureaucracy has been creating hurdles and delaying development (projects). Shockingly recruitment exercises turned out to be major scams in J&K and it has shaken the faith of the unemployed youth in recruitment agencies," he said.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)