Veteran Kashmiri leader Ali Geelani dies

ISLAMABAD: Veteran Hurriyat Leader Syed Ali Geelani passed away in Srinagar on Wednesday night.

According to media reports, he passed away at 1030 pm after a prolonged illness. He was 92. Hurriyat Leader Abdul Hameed Lone also confirmed the sad demise of Geelani. " Founder of Kashmir Freedom Movement Syed Ali Geelani is no more with us," he said in a statement.

The All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) on its official social media handle also confirmed the death. Geelani was born on September 29, 1929. A veteran of Kashmiri politics was the chairman of the Tehreek-e-Hurriyat Jammu and Kashmir and All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC).

He was a staunch opponent of Indian illegal occupation of Jammu and Kashmir and led Kashmiris’ struggle for right to self-determination. He was previously a member of Jamaat-e-Islami Jammu and Kashmir but later on, founded his own party in the name of Tehreek-e-Hurriyat.

He served as the chairman of APHC, a forum of freedom parties in Jammu and Kashmir. He was a member of Kashmir Assembly from the Sopore constituency of Jammu and Kashmir three times (1972, 1977 and 1987).Geelani, an uncompromising campaigner against Indian rule in the Muslim-majority Himalayan region divided between India and Pakistan since 1947, had been under house arrest for the past 11 years. He had been ill for several months.

Geelani had been a thorn in India´s side since the early 1960s when he began campaigning for the territory´s merger with Pakistan. He also pursued his separatist calls as a member of the Kashmir assembly.

The veteran politician was jailed for nearly 10 years after 1962 and often restricted to his home after that. Since his youth Geelani had been a member of Jamaat-i-Islami, the largest political-religious organisation in the IIOJ&K that was banned by the Hindu nationalist government of Narendra Modi in 2019.

Geelani was a staunch critic of the sporadic but failed attempts at dialogue between India and Pakistan.Indian authorities imposed a security clampdown in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu ans Kashmir (IIOJ&K) late Wednesday after the death of separatist icon Syed Ali Geelani, residents said.

Troops put up barbed wire and barricades on roads leading to Geelani´s house in the main city of Srinagar after the family announced the death. Hundreds of security forces were immediately deployed and media reports said a curfew would be imposed and internet services cut.Announcements were made from loudspeakers of the main mosque near Geelani´s residence asking people to march towards the house. But scores of armoured vehicles and trucks patrolled main roads in the area. Police appealed for people not to go out on the street.Kashmir is one of the world´s most militarised zones, with 500,000 Indian security forces deployed in the region.

Prime Minister Imran Khan also paid rich tribute to the deceased Kashmiri leader. “Deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Kashmiri freedom fighter Syed Ali Geelani who struggled all his life for his people & their right to self determination. He suffered incarceration & torture by the Occupying Indian state but remained resolute,” the prime minister tweeted.

In another Tweet, Imran said: “We in Pakistan salute his courageous struggle & remember his words: ‘Hum Pakistani hain aur Pakistan Hamara hai’. The Pakistan flag will fly at half mast and we will observe a day of official mourning.”

Mehbooba Mufti, former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir and President of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), said she was "saddened by the news". "We may not have agreed on most things but I respect him for his steadfastness and standing by his beliefs. May Allah Ta'aala grant him jannat and condolences to his family and well wishers," she wrote.

Chairman Senate Sadiq Sanjrani expressed grief over the death of the Hurriyat leader. "Syed Ali Geelani has rendered invaluable services in the struggle for Kashmir's right to self-determination," Sanjrani said, adding: "India cannot suppress the freedom struggle by imprisoning the Hurriyat leadership."

We will continue to support Kashmiris' struggle for self-determination, the Senate chairman added. Mushaal Hussein Mullick, wife of resistance leader Yasin Malik, expressed shock and sorrow over his death.

"I wish he would have seen the face of [a] free Kashmir. But his life struggle is a model for us to stand firm against oppression and occupational forces," she said.