Separatist leader Syed Ali Geelani resigns from Hurriyat Conference

In a press statement the octogenarian separatist leader, Geelani said he is distancing himself completely from the All Party Hurriyat Conference

Senior hardline separatist leader, Syed Ali Shah Geelani on Monday said he is distancing himself from the separatist platform — the All Party Hurriyat Conference. In a press statement the octogenarian separatist leader, Geelani said he is distancing himself completely from the All Party Hurriyat Conference. “He has written a detailed letter to Hurriyat members in which he said, given the present situation within the Hurriyat Conference, he is completely dissociating himself from the platform”, the statement said.

In his detailed letter to the members of the Hurriyat Conference, Geelani has said that henceforth he shall not be answerable in any manner about the future conduct of the constituent members of the platform. Hurriyat Conference was formed on March 9, 1993 as a united political platform of the separatist parties in Kashmir. Ten years after its formation, the Hurriyat Conference split into the moderate group headed by Mirwaiz Umer Farooq and the hardline group headed by Syed Ali Shah Geelani.

Not keeping good health, Geelani has mostly remained under house arrest in his Srinagar uptown of Hyderpora area residence for the last four years. Before that also authorities used to detain him on and off under house arrest to maintain law and order in Kashmir.

Strike over Article 35A cripples life for 2nd day

Life in Kashmir remained severely affected today for the second consecutive day due to a complete shutdown called by separatists against the legal challenge in the Supreme Court on the validity of Article 35A.

The two-day strike called by the Joint Resistance Leadership (JRL) — comprising Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Mohammad Yasin Malik — comes as the Supreme Court is scheduled to hear a PIL challenging the validity of Article 35A later in the day.

Article 35A, incorporated in the Constitution by a 1954 Presidential Order, confers special status to the permanent residents of Jammu and Kashmir, and bars people from outside the state from acquiring any immovable property in the state.

Educational institutions, shops and business establishments remained closed across the Valley, while all kinds of transport remained off the roads due to the strike.

The state government has filed an application before the registrar of the Supreme Court, informing that it was going to seek adjournment of the hearing in view of the “ongoing preparations” for the upcoming panchayat and urban local body and municipal elections in the state.

Officials said the security forces had been deployed at vulnerable places in the city and elsewhere in Kashmir for maintaining law and order. The situation across the Valley is peaceful with no untoward incident reported from anywhere so far today, the officials said.

Article Source : BS