Ex-leader of banned JeI wearing GPS tracker anklet files nominations

Bandipora, Sep 12: Former district president of banned Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI), Mohammad Sikander Malik, who wears GPS tracker anklet since his release from jail, today filed nomination papers as an independent candidate for Bandipora assembly constituency.

In a significant shift from its stiff stance of boycott in the valley from elections after 1987, which were believed to have been widely rigged, the former leaders of JeI has stepped back into the electoral process believing the situation in Kashmir has “improved.”

“Jamaat had never opposed elections. Elections of 1987 deeply disappointed us, now we have seen the situation in Kashmir is steadily improving. It reflected in the recently held parliamentary elections which we saw were free and fair,” Sikander said.

He has been in and out of jail since 2019 after the abrogation of Articles 370 and 35 A when he was booked under PSA and UAPA. He has also been wearing a GPS tracker anklet for three and a half months since his release from the Bandipora sub-jail.

Sikander has a PG in Arabic language and literature from IUST in 2015. “We are hopeful people will vote for us,” Sikander said after filing nomination papers on Thursday. He said not only will they seek to vote, but make people aware of its value and who to vote for. “A vote is a form of testimony, and those who cast them ought to be aware of the person they are casting their ballot for and whether they are deserving of it,” he said. He said people are well aware of his work as a social activist in the district.

“I have been constantly in and out of jail from 2019 and in 2022 I was booked under PSA and lodged in Kotbalwal jail. From there I was shifted to Haryana and later released,” he stated. “Then on I was regularly in and out of jail or court hearings besides this I was also being barred from going to places outside,” he added.

He stated that two months prior to the parliamentary election he was again detained in sub-jail Bandipora, but after that he was informed that a GPS tracker would be fitted so that he could continue his work.

“Even though I am out, I don’t feel free in GPS, It violates privacy.. Still I have accepted the government’s decision and will now go among the public,” he said referring to campaigning.

“So many youth remain detained on frivolous charges for years only to be released after decades without conviction,” Sikander said, adding this will be one of the main issues “we will work towards if elected to power.”

“We have put our faith in the election commission of India that elections will be conducted in a free and fair atmosphere. It will also provide a window of relief to us,” Sikander said, adding if elected lifting of ban on Jamaat will also be on top of their demands.