The moderate faction of Hurriyat Conference on Monday rejected elections in Jammu and Kashmir, saying the democratic process has failed to resolve the Kashmir issue.
"Hurriyat Conference rejects elections. It is also not an issue of good or bad governance. Kashmir issue cannot be resolved through polls," chairman of the faction Mirwaiz Umer Farooq told media persons at his residence in Srinagar.
Mirwaiz, who is under house arrest since his release on September 1, said 'elections have been held in the state since 1947, but Kashmir issue still remains unresolved'.
He accused the Centre of pushing the people of Kashmir to the wall.
"It (Centre) wants to convert the ongoing peaceful agitation into a violent resistance movement so as to dub it as a terrorist movement," Mirwaiz claimed.
"The government should see writing on the wall and take urgent steps to resolve the issue," he said, adding, "The ball is in the government's court and it is for the government to see reasons and settle the issue."
Referring to the Amarnath agitations, he said 'brute force was used against peaceful protesters, who were demanding opening of Srinagar-Muzaffarabad road for trade for survival in the wake of economic blockade of the Valley'.
The entire Hurriyat leadership was arrested. Over 1,000 youths were detained in the valley following raids, he added.
Refuting the claim of National Security Advisor M K Narayanan that senior Hurriyat leader Sheikh Aziz was not killed in police firing, Mirwaiz said 'he was killed by SLR fire opened by police'.
He demanded unconditional release of all those arrested during the recent agitation.
"The Hurriyat Conference has always favoured resolution of Kashmir issue through peaceful means," he added.
