The Jamaat-e-Islami Jammu and Kashmir, which has been outlawed under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act or UAPA for its activities against the security, integrity, and sovereignty of India, has said that it is willing to participate in the assembly elections in J&K if the Centre lifts the ban imposed on the organisation.
The development has come after many of the group’s top leaders were seen voting in the recently held Srinagar Lok Sabha elections, which saw a record turnout after 1996 in the Valley.
Speaking exclusively to News18, Ghulam Qadir Wani, who has been made the head of a panel formed after Jamaat was banned by the government of India, said that the organisation was ready to participate in the electoral process to strengthen democracy and bring peace in Jammu and Kashmir, which saw violence for many years after the eruption of terrorism in the 1990s.
“To restore Jamaat and get our ban revoked, we have formed a panel and I head that panel. Majlis-e-Shura (advisory council or consultative council) had decided to talk with the Centre to get our ban lifted and we are in talks with them over several issues. We have always participated in the democratic process but since the 90s we couldn’t because of the circumstances but now we will participate,” he told News18
Asked if the Jamaat will participate in the assembly elections and put up candidates as it did before the 1990s, he said that if the ban is lifted, it will come forward and fight the elections depending on the time.
“Our members have also agreed to these decisions. The panel has decided to participate in the democratic process. In between blood was spilled and the situation was unstable for the process. We stayed away like others did but we believed in the democratic process. We wanted to vote in the Lok Sabha polls and we did it,” he said.
Jamaat-e-Islami Kashmir has been pro-Pakistan and backed the separatist cause in the Valley. The government has accused it of being involved in fomenting terrorism and anti-India propaganda to fuel secessionism. If the ban is lifted, say observers, this will be the first time after 1987 that Jamaat will be able to participate in elections.
According to data, 47 cases have been registered against the group across Jammu and Kashmir.
Talking about his decision to vote, Qadir said that the organisation wasn’t banned from voting. “This is a democratic process and I was certifying it. I voted for the resolution of our issues. A letter with Jamaat-e-Islami Kashmir written on it has emerged which states that voting was my personal opinion but the fact is that we had sought permission from our internal committee and the panel had decided to vote after a long pause,” he said.
Qadir said that due to violence many families were shattered and businesses suffered but Jamaat wants to restore peace.
A government notification extending the ban on the group in February for five more years said, “JeI is in close touch with militant outfits and is continuously supporting extremism and militancy in Jammu and Kashmir and elsewhere; is supporting claims for secession of a part of the Indian territory from the Union and supporting terrorist and separatist groups fighting for this purpose by indulging in activities and articulations intended to disrupt the territorial integrity of India, is involved in anti-national and subversive activities in the country intended to cause disaffection.”
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