SRINAGAR: The All Parties Kashmir Hurriyat Conference {APKHC) said it would not take Part in any electoral process in the state.
APKHC leaders Ali Shah Geelani, Abdul Gani Lone and Prof Abdul Gani Said that “elections would never take place in the Jammu and Kashmir,” In fact, people of the state, particularly in the Kashmir valley, have rejected the “election propaganda of the Central Government,” they said adding “it is not fear of the militant gun but as a sacrifice for a particular cause that the people will not allow any elections in the state.”
Dr. Syed Ali Shah Geelani said “we have lost confidence in elections because of our experience since 1953.”
He said people of the Kashmir valley have “sacrificed their everything” not just for elections but for the “right 16 self-determination.” He said “if Government of India is SO sure that people of the state, including Kashmiris, are with them, let them hold a referendum under the auspices of the United Nations to know what exactly they want.”
“If the people want to live with India we will have no objection but if they want to join Pakistan, Indian authorities should accept the reality,” Prof Gani said.
Prof Gani said, “They (authorities) can hold elections on communal lines in the state,” but that will “expose their secular face.”
Article extracted from this publication >> October 21, 1994
