Srinagar: In occupied Kashmir, with authorities either detaining or placing Hurriyet leaders under house arrest, the resistance leadership is to run poll-boycott campaign through imams (clerics) and by distributing posters to prevent people from casting votes in the upcoming sham Indian parliamentary by-elections.
Ahead of the Lok Sabha parliamentary polls for central Kashmir and south Kashmir seats to be held on April 9 and April 12 respectively, authorities have intensified crackdown on Hurriyet leaders and have either detained them or placed under house arrest to prevent them from running poll boycott campaign. However, the leaders said they would intensify their campaign in both constituencies to stop people from casting votes.
Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, who was placed under house detention last Friday, in a media interview said that pro-freedom camp would try to reach people in every area with the poll boycott campaign. He said they would write to every Masjid imam to urge people to stay away from election process during their Friday sermons.
“We are also distributing posters and flags through our cadre to intensify the boycott campaign in all areas,†he said. “Even if we are not allowed to reach out to people with our message, we will try to inform them through other means including media and social media,†the Mirwaiz added.
The Puppet administration “has accepted defeat in advance by restricting the movement of Hurriyet leaders to prevent them from boycott campaign. J&K has been turned into police state and we are not allowed to reach out to people to inform them about this futile election exercise which India is falsely portraying as mandate of the people to weaken the cause,†he said. Appealing people to stay away from elections, he said people should stand firm to take the ongoing freedom struggle to its logical end.
The All Parties Hurriyet Conference Spokesman, Ayaz Akbar told media that the authorities had turned it into one-sided game by not allowing Hurriyet leaders to go to public. He said Hurriyet leaders would go for poll-boycott campaign through other means including distribution of posters and would appeal people through clerics during Friday sermons to stay away from elections. “We will request and appeal people through all other means to stay away from poll process, as authorities are unlikely to allow us to reach them with the boycott campaign,†he said.
He said Hurriyet Syed Ali Gilani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, Mohammad Yasin Malik and dozens of other Hurriyet leaders and activists have been either detained or placed under house detention.
