Revisit policy of banning organizations in J&K, Mirwaiz urges govt

J&K's senior religious leader and chief cleric, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, on Tuesday urged the Central government to revisit its policy of banning what he called social and political organisations.

"The public statement by JEI chief is concerning. It would be in the interest of peace and stability that New Delhi listen to people’s plea and revisit its policy of bans on social and political organisations in J&K, bringing an end to the harassment and intimidation that accompanies such restrictions," the Mirwaiz said in a post on X.

"Where these forced measures are challenged before the court of law, it is at least expected that due process is allowed to run its course fairly, without taking actions that render legal remedies meaningless", he added.

Attached properties and institutions should be treated with restraint and in accordance with law and judicial process, he stressed.

The Mirwaiz held that "a sustainable political process cannot be built by excluding genuine voices or replacing them with convenient alternatives", and called for those "who command real social and political presence must be allowed space and engaged through dialogue".

"Respect for the rule of law, fairness and meaningful political engagement remain essential for any way forward to real peace”.

His remarks came amid ongoing legal and administrative action concerning banned organisations and properties attached in Jammu and Kashmir.

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has declared some organisations as unlawful in J&K to maintain law and order, after intelligence inputs about the involvement of these organisations in secessionist and terrorist activities.

The banned organizations in J&K are the Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI) Jammu and Kashmir, the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF), the Awami Action Committee (AAC), the Jammu and Kashmir Ittehadul Muslimeen (JKIM), the Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Freedom League (JKPFL), the Dukhtaran-e-Milat (DEM), as well as terror outfits Hizbul Mujahideen (HM), Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM), Al-Badr, Al Umar Mujahideen, and Jammu and Kashmir Islamic Front.

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