Senior All Parties Hurriyat Conference leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq has emphasized that local elections cannot resolve the decades-old Kashmir issue, a contentious dispute between Pakistan and India.

According to Kashmir Media Service, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, who spent most of the last five years under house detention in Srinagar, in a media interview with an American news agency asserted that manipulated elections will not address the core issue, silenced by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindutva government since 2019. The election, as per the news agency, touted as a “festival of democracy,” is seen by locals as an opportunity to protest the 2019 changes that stripped occupied Jammu and Kashmir of its special status. Mirwaiz stressed that these elections cannot be the means to address the larger Kashmir issue, highlighting the need for a more comprehensive solution, which he meant within the framework of the UN Security Council resolutions.

The Jammu and Kashmir Democratic Freedom Party has strongly condemned the ongoing bloodshed in occupied Jammu and Kashmir, urging the international community to intervene and prevent further loss of lives in the territory. DFP spokesman Advocate Arshad Iqbal in a statement in Srinagar expressed grave concern over the killings of Kashmiri youth in Kulgam and Kuthwa districts.

Meanwhile, Indian troops continued cordon and search operations in Kathua and Rajouri districts, launched by a joint team of Indian forces on Saturday. Indian police summoned three youths for questioning over social media posts. In a related development, the BJP regime attached another civilian’s property, Bilal Ahmad Lone’s, in Pulwama district under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act. The seized property includes 16 marlas of land and a two-story residential house.

Kashmiri-Americans and supporters gathered outside the United Nations in New York, demanding freedom from Indian occupation despite the rain. Protesters held banners with messages like “No Election No Selection: UN Resolutions Only Solution” and “Indian Army Out of Kashmir”. Kashmiri leader Dr Ghulam Nabi Fai criticized Indian Foreign Minister Dr Jaishankar’s UN speech as “mendacious” and said India is violating human rights and UN resolutions. Speakers condemned India’s actions in Kashmir, calling for UN resolution implementation and self-determination rights.

On the other hand, Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi , has said the BJP regime is framing policies in Jammu and Kashmir that benefit outsiders at the expense of locals. She criticized the BJP for using terrorism as a tool to misguide people.