Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) chairman Mohammad Yasin Malik, who has called for a boycott of the coming elections, was Thursday taken arrested by the police in Srinagar.In a statement a spokesman of JKLF said police have started a crackdown against JKLF throughout Kashmir and dozens of JKLF leaders including Malik have been arrested. “Police today raided the temporary office of JKLF at Abi Guzar and arrested Malik. Police also arrested vice chairman JKLF advocate Bashir Ahmad Bhat, secretary general Ghulam Rasool Dar Eidi, deputy organizer JKLF Mir Siraj ud din Davood, district president Kupwara Mohammad Rafiq war, district president Budgam Gulzar Ahmad Bhat Pahalwan, district secretary Kulgam Nazir Nhmad Rather, activists Mohammad Jammal Dar and Abdul Ahad Ganai from Tengmarg in nocturnal raids,” he said.
“Police also raided the residences of Reyaz Ahmad Gujri (Bitta Guru), JKLF district president Ganderbal Bashir Ahmad Rather ( Boya), Mushtaq Ahmad Koreg Ganderbal, Habib ullah Dar Ialahi Bagh and many others . Police have also arrested pro freedom leaders like Syed Shabir Ahmad Shah, Nayeem Ahmad Khan, Moulana Mohammad Abdullah Tari, Zafar Akbar Bhat ,Ayaz Akbar and many others during nocturnal raids,” he added.Before his arrest Malik while talking to JKLF party leaders said that that boycotting polls is legitimate under the purview of legal and democratic set-up. He said that the crackdown on Kashmir’s pro-freedom leadership actually vindicates the fact that New Delhi and its Kashmiri ‘puppets’ have conceded the defeat long before the battle.
Malik who has been lodged at police station Kothibagh said that democracy is termed as the battle of ideas and ideologies. “Also freedom of expression is reckoned as the basic right of every inpidual in today’s modern world. To vote or to boycott is the basic right of every person but to inflict torture of worst nature upon the people who boycott fraudulent elections and to restrict their movements is in itself the negation of democratic norms and rights that cannot be termed but as most undemocratic and uncivilized,” he said.Malik said that Kashmir was devastated by a severe flood recently. “Hundreds of our people lost their lives and millions are today homeless and compelled to live under open skies. Our markets and business has been trashed to rubble and every human here is suffering from a trauma like situation. With severe winters knocking at our doors in these hard times, Kashmiris especially those affected directly by floods are actually fighting for their survival,” the JKLF chairman said.
He said that these hard times demanded sincere and apolitical humanitarian efforts for the welfare of flood hit people but Indian state and its Kashmiri ‘stooges’ instead of showing some humanity or humility towards flood devastated people, imposed ‘election drama’ on them. “By announcing elections in these circumstances, India and its Kashmiri stooges have actually shown their tyrant, careless and callous face and Kashmiris as in past will surely reject this election drama,” he alleged.While commenting on the arrests and crackdown on pro freedom camp Malik said, “Throughout the world, the people are given the chance to express their ideas and opinions before the masses in a free way but in Jammu Kashmir, India, which claims to be the biggest democracy of the world and also terms election held time to time in Jammu Kashmir as fair, free and full of participation, is actually acting in Hitler’s style, negating the people of Jammu Kashmir every basic right to choose what they want.”
Malik claimed that the pro-India parties here including NC, Congress, PDP, BJP, and CPI and others including independents participating in these elections are being funded by India’s home ministry. “Indian forces and institutions facilitate their campaign and even people’s participation in their public rallies is ensured by these forces. But on the other hand freedom camp is denied all its rights, they are being harassed, arrested, jailed, tortured and subjected to every kind of oppression by the state. The irony is that after caging down the whole freedom camp, Indian prime minister from Lal Qilla and other leaders and officers claim victory and propagate elections as people’s verdict,” he claimed.
Malik said that jail is second home for freedom camp and people in this camp have spent years in jails. “Therefore intimidating them by the threats of jails and arrests cannot deter them from perusing the path of freedom and truth. Anybody who is dreaming to frighten the freedom lovers is living in a fool’s paradise as this only show and indicates that Indian state and its puppets have conceded defeat even before the match,” he added.