By IANS
Srinagar : The United Jihad Council (UJC), the Muzaffarabad-based combine of separatist guerrillas, has decided not to use guns to force the boycott of the forthcoming elections in Jammu and Kashmir.
Syed Sallahuddin, the supreme commander of the UJC told a local news agency on the phone: “All the militant organisations associated with the UJC will fully take part in the anti-poll campaign in the state, but guns will not be used to force the people to boycott the election.”
He, however, warned that if Indian security men used force to press people to vote, then guns would be used against the security personnel.
As the state legislative assembly completes its mandatory six-year term, polls for the 87-member legislative assembly are due here later this year. Sallahuddin’s announcement is being seen here as a significant change of strategy on part of the separatist guerrillas.
In the past, the terrorists have not only attacked pro-India politicians with impunity during the election process, but also used grenades and rockets to attack polling booths across Jammu and Kashmir.
Fear amongst those choosing to vote in the elections reached a high pitch when the guerrillas kept coffins outside polling booths in many south Kashmir areas in the early 1990s.
The UJC has appealed to Kashmiri separatist leaders to unite and oppose the holding of elections in the state.