Skip to main content
xYOU DESERVE INDEPENDENT, CRITICAL MEDIA. We want readers like you. Support independent critical media.

After Geelani’s Death, Hurriyat Appoints Jailed Masarat Alam as Chairman

Anees Zargar |
The APHC’s announcement of its new chairman comes after its lifetime chairman, Syed Ali Geelani died on September 1.
masarat alam.

Image Courtesy: Kashmir Observer

Srinagar: A week after the death of senior Hurriyat leader Syed Ali Geelani, the separatist amalgam All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) has appointed Masarat Alam Bhat, 50, as its new chairman, according to a party statement. Alam is currently lodged in Tihar jail.

The APHC’s new announcement comes after its lifetime chairman, Geelani, 92, died at his residence in Srinagar on September 1. Geelani’s successor Muhammad Ashraf Sehrai, 80, who was appointed the chairman of Tehreek e Hurriyat (TeH) – a constituent of APHC – died while incarcerated in Udhampur jail after developing medical complications.

Alam’s appointment was made after consultations held privately in the region, according to a spokesperson. “Considering challenges and a great role of Hurriyat leadership, a consultative exercise has been conducted with members of executive council of All Parties Hurriyat Conference using different mediums to avoid arrests, Indian counter strategy,” the statement read.

The APHC has also nominated senior Hurriyat leaders Shabir Ahmad Shah and Ghulam Ahmed Gulzar as its Vice Chairmans while another Ghulam Ahmed Gulzar has been given the task to run the affairs of the APHC with “regular guidelines from the chairman.” Molvi Bashir Ahmed Irfani has retained the position of the organisation’s general secretary.

“This interim arrangement will continue till holding of elections as per the constitution of APHC as and when situation will improve [sic],” the spokesperson added.

Many consider Geelani’s demise a significant blow to the separatist camp in the region, which has been witnessing a massive crackdown, especially since the fall of the PDP-BJP coalition government in 2018. Many, including Shah, were booked in a case related to money laundering and ‘terror funding.’ Another key separatist group, the Yasin Malik-led Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF), was banned by authorities in March 2019, a month after the deadly Pulwama attack in which as many as 40 CRPF men lost their lives.

The third key separatist block, All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC), a faction of the Hurriyat led by Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, is also under scrutiny as the party chairman remains under house arrest since 2019. The BJP-led central government considers Hurriyat a threat to stability in war-torn Kashmir despite previous governments, including one under BJP’s Atal Bihari Vajpayee, initiating outreach and dialogue with these groups from time to time.

Hurriyat Conference was formed in 1993 following an alliance between 26 parties with Geelani, Mirwaiz, and Malik as executive council members. The People’s Conference, then led by Abdul Gani Lone, was also a council member. Lone, father of JKPC head Sajad Lone, was assassinated in 2002, following which the Hurriyat Conference split into two factions, each led by Geelani and Mirwaiz.

Many considered Alam as the natural successor of Geelani due to his appeal, fiery speeches and pro-Pakistan politics. Alam will now lead other senior leaders like Shabir Shah – recognised by Amnesty International as ‘Prisoner of Conscience’ - who heads the Democratic Freedom Party (DFP), in the APHC. Along with Alam, Shah is also currently lodged in Tihar Jail.

Alam, believed to be previously associated with militant outfit Hezbollah – now inoperative, headed a pro-Pakistan group, J&K Muslim League (ML) -- another constituent of APHC – when he was arrested in 2010. He was held responsible for spearheading a summer-long agitation that year, which ended with killing of over 100 civilians and left hundreds injured. He launched the ‘Quit Kashmir Movement’ while operating from underground before his arrest and openly supported stone-pelting as a form of protest.

Born to a family of traders in downtown Srinagar, he studied at the valley’s prestigious Tyndale Biscoe School and was arrested for the first time at the peak of insurgency in the year 1990 at the age of 19. Since then, he has spent nearly 25 years in jail and was released in 2015 during the PDP-BJP coalition government’s rule. But he was arrested again within a month. He was booked under the controversial Public Safety Act (PSA) more than 25 times on charges of ‘waging war’ against the state, leading protests and ‘fermenting trouble’. His dossier even mentioned that Alam was “born” with anti-India sentiments.

Last year, the Jammu and Kashmir High Court quashed a 2017 order of detention of Masarat Alam under the PSA, but he continues to remain behind bars in connection with a terror-financing case.

Get the latest reports & analysis with people's perspective on Protests, movements & deep analytical videos, discussions of the current affairs in your Telegram app. Subscribe to NewsClick's Telegram channel & get Real-Time updates on stories, as they get published on our website.

Subscribe Newsclick On Telegram

Latest