The veteran Kashmiri Hurriyet leader in occupied Kashmir Syed Ali Geelani has urged people to boycott municipal elections in the territory. Ali Geelani in a statement issued in Srinagar said that the elections were used by India to mislead the international community that people had happily accepted the Indian occupation.
"It is a potent tool with them to justify their occupation of Kashmir," he added, Kashmir Media Service (KMS) reported. He said that the Indian government attempted to cover human rights violations by its troops and police personnel in the occupied territory through these elections.
He said the authorities were adopting oppressive policies to restrict activities of Hurriyet leaders. He deplored that many Hurriyet leaders and activists had been put in jails. Expressing concern over increase in India's defence budget, the veteran Kashmir Hurriyet leader said the country continued to pursue its aggressive policies against its neighbours. "India has already become the number one purchaser of weapons in the world. The recent increase in defence budget by Rs 300 billion was meant to maintain its colonial approach towards its neighbours.