Srinagar, Aug 25 (Reporter)In a significant development, the banned Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI) has decided to field its members as independent candidates for the upcoming Assembly elections in the Kashmir valley. A senior leader of Jamat told UNI on Sunday that the party will field its candidates as independents and would also support other independent candidates during the elections. He emphasized that JeI has never been opposed to the democratic process and has always supported holding elections in Jammu and Kashmir. “Now that the government of India has not lifted the ban on JeI, the party will contest elections as independents in several constituencies, although the specific constituencies have not yet been decided,” he said. It is learnt that Jamaat may field its candidates from six seats in Southern Kashmir, that include Kulgam, Devsar, Bijbehara, Zainapora, Tral, Pulwama, and Rajpora. The party leader said these areas have traditionally had a strong support base for Jamat JeI is willing to support any party or individual that helps remove the ban on the party. “By contesting we want to show Jamaat stands for peace,” another Jamat member said. Jamat was banned by the union government in early 2019, for five years under Section 3 of the UAPA, as the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said the group was “involved in anti-national and subversive” activities “intending to cause disaffection." On Friday, a UAPA Tribunal upheld the Central government’s Jamaat ban. Meanwhile, the National Conference and Peoples Democratic Party have welcomed JeI's decision to contest the elections and demanded that the government of India lift the ban on the party...////...