The Hurriyat Conference and other separatist outfits on October 19 said they will boycott the assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir which they termed as a "futile exercise". Syed Ali Shah Geelani, chairman Hurriyat Conference (G), told a local news agency KNS that elections are not an alternative to the struggle for right of self determination. He added that Kashmir issue is disputed and government of India will have to accept the disputed nature of the issue. Geelani alleged that mainstream parties were damaging the interests of the people by contesting elections and that people must reject them firmly. In his reaction Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, chairman Harriyat Conference (M) asked the people to remain prepared for the election boycott. "Government of India is wasting time by announcing polls, which have no link with Kashmir issue. These elections cannot affect the disputed nature of Kashmir issue. If polls were a solution, then the Kashmir issue would have been solved by now since a number of elections were held since 1947," he said. He said the issue can be resolved only through a composite dialogue process between India and Pakistan in which Kashmiri leadership should be involved. The Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) chairman Mohammad Yasin Malik said Kashmiri people would not allow any power to play with their future as three generations have got affected by the Kashmir issue. "To vote or not to vote is a democratic right. But three generations have laid down their lives for the Kashmir issue, with which the destiny and future of the people particularly the younger generations is associated with it," he said. Malik further stated that polls are not a solution of Kashmir issue and JKLF will effectively run the poll boycott campaign1.

• 1. “Hurriyat, JKLF announce poll boycott”, Kashmir Times, October 20, 2008, at http://kashmirtimes.com/news1.htm