Kashmiri Hurriyat Conference To Form Election Commission
A Kashmiri man protests Indian forces' atrocities in Jammu Kashmir.
By IOL India correspondent
NEW DELHI, Jan. 29 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - The All Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC), at its executive council meeting Monday, January 28, decided to constitute its own election commission which would determine the Kashmiri secessionist conglomerate’s representative character by ‘‘democratic means’’ to dispel the doubts arising in certain quarters, the Times of India online reported Tuesday, quoting a Hurriyat spokesman.
Besides deliberating on their stand for the forthcoming Jammu & Kashmir Legislative Assembly elections in September, the council discussed the future course of action for the conglomerate.
The meeting assumes significance in view of the changing political scenario in the region after Pakistani President, Pervez Musharraf’s speech earlier this month in which he limited Pakistani support to Kashmiri militant groups to political and diplomatic fields.
All the seven executive members of the APHC, including Syed Ali Shah Geelani – staunch pro-Pakistan leader – attended the meeting.
The meeting was a stormy one as the council members were divided on the issue of participation in the September assembly elections, the Times of India said.
One faction favored participation, but hardliners utterly rejected any such suggestion and instead sought to have an edict issued for boycotting the state assembly elections. The APHC has consistently boycotted provincial and central elections since its formation in 1993.
Briefing the press after the meeting, a Hurriyat spokesman said the Kashmir issue, which threatens peace in the subcontinent, can be resolved only through tripartite talks.
The spokesman said the Hurriyat executive body has resolved to constitute an election commission of its own which would determine the representative character of the APHC in Jammu and Kashmir and also in Pakistan- administered Azad Kashmir. He added that the democratic process would be undertaken in three phases.
In the first phase, it will be applied in Kashmir division while people of the Jammu and Ladakh divisions would decide on the representative character of the Hurriyat in the second phase. In the third and last phase, the people of Azad Kashmir will be given a chance to express their views about Hurriyat being their sole representative body, the spokesman added.
The spokesman hoped India and Pakistan would welcome the step and help the people of the state without putting hurdles in the smooth conduct of this process, Times of India reported.
