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Hardline Separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani resigns from Hurriyat conference

WION Web Team
NEW DELHIWritten By: Ieshan Bashir WaniUpdated: Jun 29, 2020, 04:44 PM IST
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Kashmiri separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani. Photograph:(Getty)

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Geelani, 90, who has been under house arrest since August 2019, reportedly distanced himself from All party Hurriyat Conference citing rebellion against leadership by cadres as one of the reasons.  

The face of separatists in Kashmir for almost three decades, Syed Ali Shah Geelani, has resigned from the All Party Hurriyat Conference, an alliance of secessionist parties and leaders, citing several reasons.

Senior Separatist leader who has been behind several shutdowns calls and for the boycott of elections in Jammu and Kashmir, through an audio message has made this announcement. He has distanced himself from the Hurriyat Conference which elected him as the lifetime chairman in 2003 but hasn’t specified if he will continue with his separatist group called Tehreek-e-Hurriyat or not.

“...looking at the present situation of Hurriyat, I have decided to separate myself from this forum,” Geelani said in an audio statement.

From months, Geelani has been keeping unwell and since the abrogation of J&K special status, the separatists in the valley have been finding it hard to regain feet. The government of India following the Pulwama terror attack has banned several separatist outfits & put an end to their funding by Pakistan through the Hawala route.

In a letter written by the octogenarian separatist, he has also cited bypassing him on several occasions as one of the reasons. This is a big blow to the separatist camp in Jammu and Kashmir who have been trying to fuel violence in the union territory. National Investigation Agency has been investigating the funding of these separatists and several are behind the bars in terror funding cases.