Hurriyat plans Assembly poll boycott

The Hurriyat8217;s boycott of the Assembly elections will probably not include the roadside protests, public gatherings and door-to-door ca...

The Hurriyat8217;s boycott of the Assembly elections will probably not include the roadside protests, public gatherings and door-to-door campaign that characterised the last venture.

The reason, says Hurriyat chairman Prof Abdul Gani Bhat, is that the conglomerate8217;s top 40 leaders are already in jail, and taking to streets against elections would only warrant more arrests and excesses.

The Hurriyat8217;s decision not to participate 8212; a decision it reiterated today 8212; is evidence enough that it8217;s for a boycott, Bhat said. 8216;8216;The word has already gone out and people know what to do. The dynamics of the situation tells that we should not put ourselves at risk. Our people are getting beaten blue and black and it is needless to come out on the streets8217;8217; he said.

The Hurriyat8217;s decision stems from the non-availability of former chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani and JKLF supremo Mohammad Yasin Malik, who had spearheaded the political campaign the last time around.

Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, considered to be a dove, hardly ventures out of his family8217;s political bastion in downtown Srinagar, instead using the platform of Jama Masjid for his Friday sermons.

While Bhat has a low public profile, the Hurriyat8217;s other two executive members, Moulvi Abbas Ansari and Bilal Ghani Lone, are too new to lead public demonstrations.

For the record, the Hurriyat reiterated their stand 8212; that they8217;d consider participation in the process given an assurance from Delhi that elections would be linked to resolution of the Kashmir problem.

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Former Hurriyat chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, who returned recently from abroad, said it would participate in elections that would ensure 8216;8216;taqdeersaji resolution of Kashmir and not merely elections for the formation of government or assembly8217;8217;.

Bhat said Hurriyat leaders would be going to New Delhi in a few days for the second round of talks with Ram Jethmalani8217;s Kashmir Committee.