Srinagar, Oct 06 (INP): In occupied Kashmir, the Chairman of Hurriyat forum, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, has said that sham elections conducted by India in the territory are no substitute to the resolution of the Kashmir dispute. According to Kashmir Media Service, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq in a statement issued in Srinagar said that the upcoming so-called local bodies and panchayat elections in the territory are actually a military operation and a futile exercise. He said that the Kashmiri people had always rejected the sham polls. He said for the past over 70 years, people of Kashmir have seen the “hard and soft” and the “carrot and stick” of government of India but despite all this, the basic problem has neither faded away nor got resolved. “It is as it was,” he added. The Mirwaiz said, “The essence of election process lies first in the establishment of democratic principles and institutions. Neither are any democratic principles followed here nor have any democratic institutions been allowed to flourish. Instead the reverse has taken place here by use of extreme arbitrary force and authoritarianism.” He urged the people to stay away from upcoming sham elections and observe a complete shutdown in their respective areas on the polling day to register protest against the polls in accordance with the programme already given by Joint Resistance Leadership (JRL). “Each generation of Kashmiris since 1947 has yearned for a resolution and end to the uncertainty and distress that arises for them because of this issue. But to no avail; the issue has lingered on and became chronic mostly because successive governments in India refuse to acknowledge or engage with the basic fact,” the Mirwaiz said. “The fourth generation of Kashmiris born and raised under the forcible control of Delhi, whose symbols are omnipresent and all over acutely conscious of it, are so desperate to end it even at the cost of sacrificing their lives,” he added. INP/AK