Srinagar:
The government may permit the members of the banned Jama’at-e-Islami Jammu and Kashmir (JeI) to participate in the elections under a different party name, sources said. This move comes after JeI expressed its willingness to contest polls if the Centre lifts the ban imposed on it.
On May 15, JeI declared its readiness to enter the electoral fray, provided the government revokes the ban placed on the organization in 2019. The ban on Jamat came following the rollback of Article 370, which granted special autonomy to Jammu and Kashmir. Despite this designation, ex-JeI members, including panel head Ghulam Qadir Wani of Gussu, Pulwama, actively participated in the recent Lok Sabha polls, media reports said.
Wani, who was observed casting his vote in the May 13 Srinagar Lok Sabha elections, revealed the outfit’s intention to field candidates in the Assembly elections. He emphasized that lifting the ban is a crucial precondition for JeI’s participation in the electoral process.
“We are ready to contest the polls if the Centre revokes the ban on us,” Wani told media representatives, as reported by the Kashmir News Observer (KNO). He outlined JeI’s focus on socio-religious reforms, combating drug abuse, and addressing growing immorality. Wani revealed that a decisive meeting of JeI’s Majlis-e Shoora had affirmed the organization’s intent to participate in the elections.
When questioned about JeI’s previous election boycotts, Wani explained that these were influenced by external pressures and threats, leading JeI to abstain from voting.
In the aftermath of the revocation of Article 370, several members of the JeI remain in detention, and the organization’s assets have been seized by authorities.
On Sunday, police reported the surrender of a former JeI spokesperson involved in multiple cases. According to a police handout Ali Mohd Lone, also known as Advocate Zahid Ali, surrendered before police in Srinagar. Lone, a resident of Nihama Pulwama, is the son of Habibullah Lone.
The police detailed Lone’s involvement in various activities including case FIR No. 19/2019 under section 13 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and several sections of the Ranbir Penal Code (RPC) including 147, 148, 149, 336, 332, 427, 307, 435, 436, 120, and 225.