Banned outfit Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) has fielded three of its former members as independent candidates to contest the upcoming three-phase assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir from September 18 to October 1.
On Tuesday, Jamaat-e-Islami's independent candidate Talat Majeed filed his nomination papers from Pulwama Constituency.
On Monday, Jammu and Kashmir People's Conference (JKPC) chief Sajjad Ghani Lone called Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) members “victims” and said they had gone to jail and shared a cell with their father. Abdul Ghani Lone was assassinated on 21 May 2002 in Srinagar.
Lone also said that they (Jamaat-e-Islami affiliates) “have experienced imprisonment, torture and very painful times. They know what pain is and therefore they are in a better position to understand the suffering of others.” “
“The mainstream has been dominated by those who were the victors — who jailed, killed and tortured people during the worst period of violence in the post-1989 era,” Lown wrote in an X-Post.
“These Victors, being in the majority, will band together and pretend to be victims. They have become masters of the art of VICTIMHOOD. And every time a real victim enters the mainstream, these Victors are a slanderer. Get ready to campaign,” Lone tweeted.
“The greatest insult to the victims is when the conquerors pretend to represent them. Those who rest in their graves cannot rise to protest when the conquerors who violently sent them there pretend to speak for them. are,” he said.
“I am very happy if the news is true that some people associated with Jamaat-e-Islami are contesting elections. I sincerely hope it is.”
“The Jammu and Kashmir People's Conference and the Jamaat have coexisted in the mainstream political arena since before 1989. We rarely agree politically and often fight each other bitterly in elections. Ideologically never There was no overlap.” Lone tweeted, “Many of their top leaders spent years in prison, often sharing a cell with my late father.
“Today, we will once again compete against them on the ground. But despite our political differences, I am happy that a party that has truly fought will contest the elections. They have faced imprisonment, torture and most of the tortures of time. They know what pain is and are therefore in a better position to understand the suffering of others,” he added.
“Once again, a very warm welcome from me and my party. We will fight each other on the ground, but with my hand on my heart, I am glad that a group of victims will fight back,” Lon's X said. The post was read.
I am very happy if the news is true that some people associated with Jamaat-e-Islami are contesting elections. I sincerely hope it is.@JKPCOfficial And the party has been in mainstream politics since 1989. We rarely agreed politically and often… — Sajjadlone (@sajadlone) August 26, 2024
Media reports suggested that many ex-militants and separatists have come together to form a political group to contest the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections.
This group includes former members of JI.
The report said that this group has been named 'Tehreek Awam'.
Mehbooba Mufti says that the ban on Jamaat-e-Islami should be lifted
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chief Mehbooba Mufti on Sunday (August 25) said that participation of the banned organization in Jammu and Kashmir in the assembly elections is a good step. He also said that the ban on JI should be revoked.
“This is a good thing. I want the Government of India to remove the ban on JI because if you are not banning the sectarian organizations that are spreading poison in this country, then I don't want to name them, who hold rallies. are, pelting stones at mosques, lynching Muslims, then why ban on Jamaat-e-Islami which has contributed a lot in the field of education, helped people in 2014 floods and covid?Mufti in Srinagar told reporters.
He claimed that the people of North Kashmir voted for the “sentiment of referendum” in the Lok Sabha elections by electing the jailed Sheikh Abdul Rashid alias Engineer Rashid.
Rashid, a two-time MLA from the erstwhile Langat seat in north Kashmir's Kupwara, supported a poll for Jammu and Kashmir.
What you should know about Jamaat-e-Islami.
The Jamaat is an Islamist and pro-Pakistan organization that has been associated with violence against Hindus in the past.
Since the ouster of Bangladesh's former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, the nation has been engulfed in a wave of violence against Hindus and other ethnic minorities.
The party had led a similar wave of violence in 2001 when the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP)-Jamaat alliance won the country's elections and its activists unleashed a wave of violence against the country's minority. . Hundreds of women were allegedly assaulted and raped.