Srinagar, Sept. 1 -- Apni Party president and former finance minister of Jammu and Kashmir Altaf Bukhari on Monday alleged that Jammu and Kashmir Bank was reducing lending in the union territory while increasing it outside the region despite Non Performing Assets (NPAs) of the bank being '4-5 times more' in rest of the country. He alleged that attempts were being made to shift the headquarters of the bank from capital Srinagar. Bukhari addressed a press conference in Srinagar raising questions on the functioning and management of the bank. "I have been finance minister of this state and I am pained to see the results of J&K Bank with 9% credit growth in the UT and 30% in the rest of the country. That means somewhere hands have been withdrawn and lending has been stopped in Jammu and Kashmir while in rest of the country, the lending is more. That is a cause of concern for us, for the people here," Bukhari said. Bukhari said that Jammu and Kashmir Bank is considered a 'jewel in the crown' for the people of J&K. "As a (former) finance minister, I also know that for the lending outside, the NPAs for J&K Bank are 4-5 times more than the NPAs in J&K. That is why I am unable to understand this business decision of less lending in Kashmir and more outside," he said. Bukhari also charged that the local representation in Jammu and Kashmir Bank's board of directors was almost nil while majority were from outside the J&K. "In the current board of directors, the Kashmir representation is almost nil. Majority of the people are from outside Jammu and Kashmir. How is this justice," he said. He criticised the Omar Abdullah government for "failing to increase local representation". " The government has been here for the past two years and if there is a 12-16 member board , they have not been able to find 4-5 people from Kashmir. As per my information, there is just one representation from Kashmir. If there is a plan (behind this), then it is a cause of concern for us. I want a clarification and if it is happening it should be stopped," he said. He said that another 'scary news' was the 'attempts to shift the headquarters of J&K Bank from Srinagar'."I appeal to the state government and those associated with this, that they should refrain from such attempts. They should refrain from this as this won't be good for the economy of J&K," he added....