SRINAGAR: In a significant development, a leader of the banned Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI) Kashmir has expressed readiness to contest the upcoming Assembly polls if the Centre lifts the ban imposed on it.
The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) banned JeI in 2019, following the abrogation of Article 370, labelling the organisation as “anti-national.”
Speaking to reporters, JeI’s ‘panel head’ Ghulam Qadir Wani from Gussu, Pulwama, said that JeI members participated in the recent Lok Sabha polls, with Wani himself casting a vote on May 13.
“We are prepared to contest in the upcoming Assembly elections slated for September this year. We have always believed in the democratic process. We will field our own candidates if the Centre revokes the ban on us. There are other issues, but the revocation of the ban is the primary condition for us to join the poll fray.”
Wani added that socio-religious reforms, alongside tackling drug abuse and addressing immorality, would be key points in JeI’s election campaign.
“A crucial session of JeI’s Majlis-e Shoora was held, and a decision was made to contest the polls. We have never changed our stance as we believe in democracy,” Wani said. When asked why JeI members had boycotted polls in the past, he explained, “When nobody voted, JeI followed suit due to pressure and threats.” (KNO)
