Geelani calls for boycott of Panchayat polls

Srinagar: Stating that India has been using elections in Jammu and Kashmir as a justification for its military “occupation” on international level, Chairman Hurriyat Conference (G), Syed Ali Shah Geelani Wednesday appealed for a complete boycott of the upcoming Panchayati elections.

“Although these elections being held on gun point have no bearing on our passion for freedom or the ground reality, yet at diplomatic level, India uses the elections to raise questions over our freedom struggle. Therefore, people must uphold the sacrifices of martyrs and keep aloof from all kinds of elections,” Geelani said in a statement issued here to Press Bureau of India.

Geelani also condemned the Indian representative Charan Das’ statement in the ongoing session of United Nations General Assembly regarding Kashmiris expressing their opinion through free and fair elections in Kashmir as “unrealistic”.

“Resolution 91 passed in the United Nation’s Security Council session of 1951 and Resolution 122 passed in 1957 have made it clear that the state legislative assembly has no right to decide the future of the state and assembly elections cannot be a replacement for the UN supervised plebiscite. India has no moral and legal justification to hoodwink the international community by linking assembly elections to plebiscite,” he said.

Geelani also questioned the temporary membership of India at the UNSC, terming it as an “unjust” step. “ The world community should have taken into consideration that because India is in forceful occupation of Kashmir and its armed forces are guilty of war crimes in the state , it doesn’t deserve a temporary seat in the UNSC,” he said.

The Hurriyat leader also slammed the state government for the “humanitarian crisis”   developing in Palhalan in wake of a stringent curfew.