Srinagar: The Jammu and Kashmir Police Sunday carried out simultaneous searches at 26 locations in Sopore in connection with a UAPA case against the banned Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI) organisation.
Officials said these searches are part of the investigation to gather evidence and trace the links of the banned JeI network.
Jamaat-e-Islami J&K was a socio-religious and political organisation founded in the mid-20th century.
It was declared an unlawful association by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). The group was banned due to its separatist and terrorist links, and the crackdown came after the 2019 Pulwama attack. The ban was extended by the MHA for another five years in February 2024.
Authorities cite threats to national sovereignty, security, and the promotion of secessionism as reasons for the continuous ban on the organisation.
JeI J&K was formed in the 1950s as a distinct branch, influenced by the Islamist teachings of Syed Abul A’la Maududi.
JeI promoted a puritanical religious outlook while operating an extensive network of schools and social welfare programmes.
The group has historically maintained that Kashmir is a disputed territory and boycotted mainstream democratic elections for decades.
Some former members of JeI shifted towards democratic participation, putting up independent candidates in the 2024 J&K Assembly elections.
Some factions broke away from JeI, like the Justice and Development Front (JDF-J&K), when many former activists of JeI declared they would work within the constitutional framework of the country.
Among the prominent leaders of JeI were Maulana Saaduddin Tarabali, who founded JeI J&K in 1953 and remained the organisation’s chief till 1985.
He participated in the electoral process in J&K till the eruption of separatist violence in the 1990s. The group’s most prominent and controversial leader was Syed Ali Shah Geelani.
Before the eruption of separatist violence, Geelani fought elections for the J&K Assembly eight times, winning thrice and losing five times.
He was a rigid hardline figure within JeI who later broke away from mainstream Jamaat to form the Tehreek-e-Hurriyat, representing a strict pro-Pakistan stance for decades until he died in 2021.
