Hurriyat rules out participation in J-K polls

New Delhi, February 5: Putting to rest speculations about participation in the forthcoming Assembly polls, Hurriyat Conference on Tuesday said nobody from the 23-party amalgam would be participating in any such exercise which was aimed at running the administrative affairs of Jammu and Kashmir.

Stating that Kashmir was a "political issue" and has to be resolved through dialogue, former chairman of the Hurriyat Conference Mirwaiz Umer Farooq said the announcement of the formation of Election Commission by the executive body of the conglomerate was aimed at proving the representative character of the leadership and resolving the Kashmir issue.

"This move has been made to silence our critics who are never able to gulp the fact that we represent the broader spectrum of the people of Jammu and Kashmir," said Farooq, who is in the capital.

The former chairman also sought to downplay the talks between conglomerate chairman Abdul Gani Bhat and former divisional commissioner of Kashmir Wajahat Habibullah and said "as far as I believe that was purely a private meeting where even the chairman made the stand clear that the amalgam would stand for any elections aimed at chosing the representatives of the people of the state to solve the issue."

Asked about the formation of the proposed Election Commission, he said, "This will be an independent Commission and will comprise people who have an international credibility and are acceptable to India, Pakistan and people of the state."