As Jamaat-e-Islami holds 1st rally in Kashmir in 37 years, proscribed group looks at electoral comeback
The Centre banned the Jamaat-e-Islami Jammu and Kashmir (JeI) under anti-terrorism law in 2019 and renewed the ban again in 2024
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In the first show of force in Jammu and Kashmir since 1987, the outlawed Jamaat-e-Islami held an election rally for the first time on Sunday.
As the Jamaat stands proscribed, it has indirectly fielded candidates by putting its weight behind a bunch of independent candidates.
The Jamaat on Sunday held a rally at Bogam village in South Kashmir’s Kulgam. Even though the Jamaat-backed candidates had been carrying out a door-to-door campaign, the rally was a major step up for the group. The footage from the site shows several hundreds of people in attendance.
Jamaat-e-Islami held massive rally in South Kashmir’s Kulgam
— Rising Kashmir (@RisingKashmir) September 8, 2024
Reports Younus Rashid pic.twitter.com/wS6RJ8bgO2
The Jamaat remains banned under the anti-terrorism law Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). In 2019, the Narendra Modi government banned the JeI for five years for being “in close touch” with terrorist groups and over expectations it would “escalate secessionist movement” in J&K. The ban was renewed for another five years in 2024.
The Jamaat has long been associated with terrorism and separatism in J&K. In the 1990s, it was considered as the patron of the Pakistan-backed terrorist group Hizbul Mujahideen. Top separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani, who headed the separatist movement for several years, was also associated with Jamaat.
