In view of the Anantnag by-elections authorities have arrested several Hurriyat leaders including Ghulam Nabi Sumji, Peer Saifullah, Hakeem Abdul Rasheed, Bilal Siddiqi, Mohammad Yaseen Attaai, Bashir Ahmad Bhat, Syed Imtiyaz Hyder and dozens of other activists.
Chairman Hurriyat Conference (G) Syed Ali Geelani Sahab while terming these arrests the frustration of the government said that these pro-freedom leaders have been arrested to stop them from visiting the Islamabad and have once again made the election a one sided game.
While reiterating his election boycott call for the scheduled by-election drama in the Islamabad, Geelani sahab said that we are not against the democracy or the democratic practices but the elections which are held in Jammu & Kashmir are just the military exercises instead of a democratic process and these actions have no moral and legal credibility.
He appealed the people of Islamabad (Anantnag) not to participate in this military operation in any way and show your respect for the blood of the martyrs.
He said that whoever votes commits an act of treason and his actions harm the sacred cause of the martyrs.
Geelani said that the election dramas in Jammu & Kashmir have although no bearing on the disputed nature and status of Kashmir but it definitely lengthens our journey to freedom and it hides the grave human rights violations in Kashmir at the hands of the Indian armed forces.
