Ex-members of banned JeI form new J&K political party

SRINAGAR: Former functionaries of the proscribed Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI) Kashmir floated a political party Sunday, naming it Jammu & Kashmir Justice and Development Front with a call to “fill the gap between governance and the grassroots”.

Sayar Reshi , a senior JeI member who contested J&K’s first assembly election as a Union territory last year and ran CPM’s M Y Tarigami close in Kulgam, said the new party would field candidates in all future elections in the Valley. In the 2024 polls, he was among 10 Jamaat-backed Independent candidates in the fray.

People’s Conference MLA Sajad Lone said the launch of a new party in J&K’s political landscape should be celebrated. “We welcome them. The electoral arena should be exhaustive and present all ideologies. Their journey till here has not been painless. Wishing them all the best,” he said.

JeI was banned in 2019 over its alleged links with militant outfits.