Will contest assembly polls if ban is lifted: Jamaat-e-Islami
Jamaat-e-Islami leader Ghulam Qadir Wani said the outfit had never given a call to boycott elections and had evidence to support the claims
A top leader of the banned Jamaat-e-Islami, a politico-religious body based in the Valley, on Wednesday said they would participate in the upcoming assembly polls if the Centre revokes the ban on the outfit.
The Centre had in 2019 imposed a five-year ban on the Jamaat-e-Islami, Jammu and Kashmir, citing the outfit’s ties with terrorist groups. The organisation had first been banned in 1975 and again in 1990. Later, police had also blamed it for running the terror outfit Hizbul Mujahideen.
“Our Shurah (consultative committee) has taken a decision that we should make efforts to get the ban revoked,” Ghulam Qadir Wani, who is a top member of the outfit and is holding talks with several groups and agencies on behalf of the banned group, said.
Wani, who also cast his vote in Pulwama on Monday when the Srinagar parliamentary seat went to polls, said, “We are holding talks with the Centre for revocation of our ban. If our ban is revoked, we can participate in the upcoming assembly elections.”
He said the Jamaat had never given a call to boycott elections and had evidence to support the claims.
Talking about past boycotts, Wani said people were forced to stay put in their homes given the situation in Kashmir. “How could we have come to the forefront when others didn’t come out to vote?” he questioned, saying local groups not associated with the Jammat had called for boycotts.
Describing the “Jamaat” as an “ideology”, Wani said they wanted to be a part of the democratic process.
“We will also work on moral issues which are part of our democracy,” he said, adding, “We have told our workers that they should participate in elections for the sake of democracy as democracy is the resolution of many problems. Our workers should cast their votes without any fear.”
“Some miscreants had spread false things about us, so Shurah decided to negate the false claims,” he said, adding that if good people get elected it will bring a positive change to the society.
Since the ban, Jammu and Kashmir Police have attached more than 77 properties linked to Jamaat-e-Islami across the UT and alleged that the properties were established from proceeds of terror crimes.
