SRINAGAR: National Conference leader Omar Abdullah on Tuesday said it is “better late than never” for the banned Jamaat Islami leaders to participate in the upcoming Jammu and Kashmir elections. “We were told that elections are haram (forbidden) but now the elections have become halal (permissible). It is better late than never,” Abdullah told reporters at Pahalgam in Anantnag district. The former chief minister said he has been saying for a long time that democracy is the only way forward. “For 35 years, Jamaat Islami followed a particular political ideology which has changed now. It is good. “We wanted that the ban on Jamaat be lifted and they contest on their own symbol but didn’t happen. It is still good that they are contesting as independents,” he said. In response to a question, Abdullah said it is for the voters to decide which party Jamaat is supporting if it extends support to the People’s Conference (PC). “People’s Conference’s ties with the BJP are out there in the public. If Jamaat supports PC, then the voter will know which side they are supporting. “We don’t know of any relations between AIP (led by Baramulla Lok Sabha MP Sheikh Abdul Rashid) and Delhi. If Jamaat is supporting PC and AIP, it would raise questions on AIP as well,” he said. Abdullah expressed confidence that the National Conference-Congress alliance will get majority in the 90-member Jammu and Kashmir assembly when results are out on October 4. In a lengthy post on X, PC leader Sajad Lone said he was pleased with Jamaat-affiliated individuals contesting the elections. “I am extremely pleased if the news that some individuals affiliated with Jamaat Islamia are contesting elections is true. I sincerely hope it is,” he said. “@JKPCOfficial and Jamaat have coexisted in the mainstream political space prior to 1989. We rarely agreed politically and often fought each other bitterly in elections. Ideologically there was never an overlap,” Lone added. Lone said many prominent Jamaat leaders spent years in jail, often sharing cells with his late father. “Today, we will be contesting against them on the ground once again. But despite our political differences, I am glad that a party which has truly struggled will be participating in the elections,” he added.
