SIALKOT: Candidates of the Plebiscite Front in occupied Kashmir would not be allowed to contest elections even as independent candidates unless they pledged in writing to give up their secessionist views on Kashmir. This was stated yesterday [Jan 27] in Jammu by Mr. G.M. Sadiq the puppet Chief Minister of the held State.

According to information coming from across the cease-fire line while talking to newsmen he said ... “If Plebiscite workers are keen to contest elections they shall have to submit an affidavit along with their nomination papers that they subscribe to the view that Kashmir is an integral part of India”. ... Referring to the ban on Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah and other Plebiscite Front leaders, he said it had become essential to check the activities of freedom-fighters and conceded that if such a step had been taken things were going out of control as Plebiscite Front workers had stepped up their propaganda of separation ... through their demand of holding a Plebiscite in the state to determine its political status. He threatened that those who talked of plebiscite or separation would be severely dealt with [and] “they should learn a lesson from the state of Sheikh Abdullah and Mirza Afzal Beg.” — Agency

Published in Dawn, January 29th, 2021