Bandipora, : Former district president of the banned Jamat-e-Islami, Hafiz Mohammad Sikander Malik Thursday filed nomination papers for Bandipora constituency as independent candidate for the upcoming Jammu and Kashmir assembly election.
As per news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), Malik, a resident of Gundpora, Bandipora has served as district president of JeI until organisation was banned. He was arrested in 2019 after the abrogation of Article 370 and 35A, and was twice booked under PSA and UAPA.
Sikander was released on bail on December 2, 2023. In 2024, when Jammu and Kashmir introduced GPS tracker anklets to monitor terror accused individuals on bail, authorities in Bandipora also affixed one to Malik to track his movements.
Notably, several leaders of the banned JeI have fielded candidates as independents for assembly election in Jammu and Kashmir.TDD