Srinagar, Nov 6, 2008: The ex Chairman of All Parties Hurriyet Conference and Chief Patron of Jammu & Kashmir Ittihadul Muslimeen (JKIM), Maulana Mohammad Abbas Ansari, termed India’s move at the United Nations to link elections in the state as an alternative to plebiscite as unjustified and resolved to take the ongoing movement to its logical conclusion. During a United Nations meeting, India maintained that Kashmiris have already exercised the right of self-determination by participating repeatedly in ‘free and fair’ elections. Maulana Abbas Ansari condemned India’s stance at UN and said, “India’s argument at UN should be an eye-opener for mainstream parties who said elections are not for resolution of Kashmir but governance in the state. “If the mainstream leaders are sincere, they should refute and condemn India’s stance at UN. India is using the mainstream leaders as a canon fodder by linking elections with plebiscite,” Ansari said. Maulana said that Kashmiris won’t settle for anything less than the right of self-determination. However, Maulana Abbas hailed UN Secretary General, Ban Ki Moon and newly elected US president, Barrack Obama, for showing interest to resolve the Kashmir dispute. Regarding the UN’s offer to help resolve Kashmir, Maulana Abbas said the international community can’t afford to linger on the Kashmir dispute for long. “UN in its 18 resolutions on Kashmir has acknowledged the disputed nature of Kashmir. The UN has also maintained that no elections can challenge or substitute the right of self-determination of Kashmiris. It is shocking that India is trying to negate the right of self-determination of Kashmiris by linking it with elections,” Maulana Ansari said.