The Hurriyat moderates on Thursday bowed to pressure from the militant groups and called for a poll boycott in the Kashmir. Hurriyat chairman Mirwaiz Umer Farooq asked voters to stay away from the polling booths, going back on its earlier “no boycott” stand.

“Elections are not a substitute to freedom. We will boycott the elections till the Kashmir issue is resolved,” Mirwaiz said here. “We request people not to take part in the poll process,” he added.

The Hurriyat turnaround came after a meeting of its constituents to discuss the situation that had arisen after acting chairman Abass Ansari announced the separatist amalgam would not call for a poll boycott this time, asking people to “follow their own conscience”. After his statement was criticised by the United Jihad Council, an amalgam of 13 militant organisations operating in J&K, Ansari asked the militant outfits to mind their own business resulting in a row in the state. Last Friday hundreds of youth took to the streets and raised slogans against the Hurriyat moderates.

Sensing trouble, the Mirwaiz, who was on a visit to New Delhi for treatment, cut short his visit and returned to Srinagar. Soon after his return, he called a meeting of both the Hurriyat's general and executive councils which lasted two days.

The Mirwaiz, however, said the statement of the acting Hurriyat chairman Abass Ansari has been taken “out of context”. “The statement issued by Hurriyat after the three-day session presided over by Abass Ansari had made it clear that people should fulfil their responsibilities and stay away from elections,” Mirwaiz said. The moderate Hurriyat chairman said his faction of the separatist amalgam has not made any compromise on its principles. “We have a clear agenda of Azadi,” the Mirwaiz said.