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NEW DELHI: The Mirwaiz–led Hurriyat Conference in Jammu and Kashmir received a serious blow on with the exit of six general council members. They said that the Hurriyat(M) has now become "Company of few leaders".
These leaders also alleged that despite their repeated requests and resolutions, Hurriyat Conference (M) failed to restore its 1993 constitution
Zafar Akbar Bhat of Jammu and Kashmir Salvation Movement, Saleem Geelani of Jammu and Kashmir National Peoples Party, Hakeem Abdur Rashid of Muslim League, Yasmeen Raja of Muslim Khwateen Markaz, Bashir Andrabi of Kashmir Freedom Front and Shahid Saleem of Jammu and Kashmir People’s Movement quit the conglomerate saying it had become “directionless and did not have any concrete policies for resolving the Kashmir issue.
The leaders alleged that Mirwaiz Umar Farooq led amalgam has failed to live up to the expectations of the people.
The leaders further added that the top leaders--in what was a clear reference to the Mirwaiz--were behaving like “dictators” and did not entertain any suggestions from the other constituents.
The exit of six leaders came after a year of senior pro-freedom leaders Shabir Ahmad Shah, Nayeem Khan and Azam Inqilabi leaving the amalgam for similar reasons. They later floated a third faction called Hurriyat Conference Jammu and Kashmir.
All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC), an umbrella of pro-freedom parties was founded in March 1993 to find a political solution to the Kashmir issue.
Syed Ali Shah Geelani was its chairman for four terms before he left it in 2003 to form his own Hurriyat Conference. Since then the Kashmiri leaders have fought and squabbled on a host of issues, and refused to come under the same banner. Most of them were resistant to even talking under the same roof. This has been one of the primary reasons why the Kashmiri separatists have become ineffective in the Valley, unable to mobilise support and pressure.
