Hours before the dates for the Lok Sabha polls were announced, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Saturday banned the Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Freedom League and all factions of the Jammu and Kashmir Peoples League associated with the separatist conglomerate Hurriyat Conference under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA).
The ban on the Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF), which is led by imprisoned terror accused Yasin Malik, has been extended by another five years.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah posted on X, “The Modi government has designated the Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Freedom League (JKPFL) as an ‘unlawful association’ for five years. The organisation threatened India’s integrity by promoting, aiding and abetting the secession of Jammu and Kashmir through terrorism.”
The MHA declared four factions of the Jammu and Kashmir Peoples League — JKPL (Mukhtar Ahmed Waza), the JKPL (Bashir Ahmad Tota), the JKPL (Ghulam Mohammad Khan) and the Yaqoob Sheikh-led JKPL (Aziz Sheikh) — as “unlawful associations”.
These organisations were involved in inciting terror and abetting secessionism in Jammu and Kashmir and the government is committed to suppressing terrorism ruthlessly, the Minister said.
He stated that the JKLF continued to engage in activities that foment terror and secessionism in Jammu and Kashmir. Anyone found challenging the security, sovereignty and integrity of the nation would face harsh legal consequences, he warned.
In a notification, the Union Home Ministry said the JKPFL, chaired by Mohammad Farooq Shah, was indulging in unlawful activities prejudicial to the integrity, sovereignty and security of the country.
Members of the JKPFL have remained involved in supporting terrorist activities and anti-India propaganda to incite secessionism in Jammu and Kashmir, and its leaders and members have been involved in mobilising funds to perpetrate unlawful activities, including supporting secessionist, separatist and terrorist activities in the Union territory, it said.
The JKPFL and its members showed sheer disrespect towards the constitutional authority and the constitutional set-up of the country, the Ministry added, justifying its decision to ban the group for five years under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967.
In a separate notification, the Ministry said the four factions of the Jammu and Kashmir Peoples League (JKPL) were indulging in unlawful activities prejudicial to the integrity, sovereignty and security of the country.
It said members of these factions of the JKPL have remained involved in supporting terrorist activities and anti-India propaganda for fuelling secessionism in Jammu and Kashmir.
They have been involved in mobilising violent protests in various parts of Jammu and Kashmir to perpetrate unlawful activities, including stone throwing on security forces, the Ministry said.
The JKPL has constantly asked the people of Jammu and Kashmir to refrain from taking part in elections and, thereby, targeted and hampered the very basic constitutionally recognised fundamentals of Indian democracy, the Ministry noted.
