Srinagar, April 14: The use of Pakistani currency should be allowed in Jammu and Kashmir alongside the Indian rupee, People’s Democratic Party leader Mufti Mohammad Sayeed demanded today.

“Both currencies should be allowed…. In Europe, there is no visa restriction and people move freely between different countries. It can become a model for Jammu and Kashmir,” the former chief minister told a rally in a Jammu village.

Mufti’s demand comes three months after his close party colleague, finance minister Tariq Hameed Qarra, advocated a separate currency for the state.

The PDP has stirred one controversy after another in an election year. It is advocating “self-rule”, a concept it has failed to explain in detail.

While the National Conference’s autonomy demand relates to Centre-state administrative relations, the PDP claims “self-rule” is a larger package that addresses both internal and external issues and involves Pakistan.

“Once we have self-rule, we will have our own currency,” Qarra had said on January 2, drawing flak from the BJP and its allies.

Mufti’s proposal, too, has come under attack. “The PDP wants people to forget the failures of its six-year rule and that is why it is raising such proposals,’’ National Conference president Omar Abdullah said.

After returning from Pakistan last week, PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti provided the first hints about what shape “self-rule” might take. She proposed a regional council of representatives from both Kashmirs.

She said the council could solve disputes like those over the Wullar Barrage and the Kishanganga, and suggested the two Kashmirs have a joint agriculture policy.