Moderate separatists call Kashmir ‘Pakistan’s jugular vein’

Mirwaiz: ‘Pakistan incomplete without J&K’s separation from India’

Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

SRINAGAR, Dec 25: That New Delhi’s entire investment on encouraging “moderate separatists” in Kashmir has gone down the drain became unmistakably clear today when two of the most influential leaders called Jammu & Kashmir “Pakistan’s jugular vein” and asserted that Pakistan was incomplete without Kashmir’s separation from India.

‘Azad Kashmir Unit’ of Anjuman-e-Sharyee Shia’an, headed by Budgam-based Shia cleric and separatist politician Aga Syed Hassan Al-Moosavi, today organized a conference in the Pakistani capital of Islamabad on “The Kashmir dispute and Quad-e-Azam (Mohammad Ali Jennah)”. While addressing the conference from Srinagar on telephone, Chairman of so-called “moderate faction” of the Hurriyat Conference, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, paid rich tributes to the founder of Pakistan, Mr Jennah, and endorsed his ideology that J&K was Pakistan’s “jugular vein”. He referred to Jennah’s refrain that Pakistan was incomplete without Kashmir’s separation from India and its accession to the Islamic Republic.

Mirwaiz described Jennah a great political visionary and said that creation of a theocratic state in the name of Islamic Republic of Pakistan was his greatest achievement. He said that both Pakistan as well as Kashmir were “incomplete” until the Kashmiris were granted right of self-determination. He asserted that the separatist struggle would reach its “logical end” as hundreds of thousands of people in the “occupied land” had laid down their lives and offered all other sacrifices to see Kashmir separated from India.

In his telephonically delivered speech, Aga Syed Hassan too echoed Mirwaiz Umar’s sentiments and emphasized that India’s claim on permanent membership of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) should be essentially related to its “barbaric role in the occupied territories of Jammu & Kashmir”. He too described Kashmir as “Pakistan’s jugular vein” and lamented that “forcible Indian occupation” should be terminated with mobilization of the public opinion and other means sooner than later.

Aga stressed on implementation of the UN resolutions of 1948-49 and expressed his gratitude to the successive governments in Pakistan for providing all possible support to the Kashmiris who, according to him, were “engaged in their freedom struggle”.

Mirwaiz and Aga respectively are spiritual and political leaders of the majority Sunni Muslim and the minority Shia Muslim communities in Kashmir valley. Mirwaiz was just a student at school when his father and founder of pro-Pakistan Awami Action Committee, Mirwaiz Maulvi Mohammad Farooq, was assassinated, allegedly by militants of a formidable pro-Pakistan guerilla group, on May 21, 1990. Junior Mirwaiz later formed an umbrella of most of the Valley’s separatist organizations, under the banner of Hurriyat Conference in 1993. He served as its Chairman twice before it split in 2003.

Since 1947, Mirwaiz legacy had the distinction of being the most credible pro-Pakistan constituency in Kashmir. However, in 1977, Mirwaiz Farooq became part of Morarji Desai-led Janata Party and created a new history by inviting him to Mirwaiz Manzil in downtown Srinagar during the thick of campaigning for Assembly elections. The alliance, however, received a dressing down at the hustings as JP could bag not more than two segments in entire Kashmir valley. Mirwaiz-supported Abdul Rasheed Kabuli defeated NC’s candidate in Iddgah constituency in Srinagar and JP’s stalwart, Abdul Gani Lone, made his victory from Handwara.

Aga Syed Hassan was also JP’s candidate in the Assembly elections of 1977 in Budgam but NC’s Syed Ghulam Hussain Geelani defeated him with a thick margin of votes. Later, in 1987, Mirwaiz again became part of the newfound alliance of NC and Congress when he joined hands with Dr Farooq Abdullah and then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in lieu of two assured seats to his AAC in Srinagar city. Consequently, NC and Congress helped victory of Mirwaiz Farooq’s nominees, Pir Mohammad Shafi and Mohammad Shafi Khan, who served as MLAs in J&K Legislative Assembly for three years of NC-Congress coalition government.

In sharp contrast to so-called hardliners, like Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Government of India has placed both the separatist leaders, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Aga Syed Hassan, in the highest Z-plus category of security. Over a hundred men of J&K Police have been deployed on their personal protection, house protection and escort duty. While projecting the duo as “neutralizers of hardliners”, officials from Srinagar to New Delhi have also provided to the two separatist leaders almost all privileges and facilities enjoyed by Ministers of the rank of Cabinet.

These state-sponsored facilities include bullet-proof cars, personal security officers, static house-guards, escort personnel, frisking personnel of Security Wing and wireless operators. Government has been spending over Rs 2.00 Cr annually on these facilities provided to the two “moderate separatists”.

Though both the separatist leaders had adopted a “soft line” and they had been talking of only “Azadi”, they have now left behind all hardliners, including Geelani, in toeing a hawkish policy in favour of Pakistan and against the country proving them all mundane privileges and comforts. Successive governments, both NDA and UPA, in New Delhi, have been supporting and encouraging these so-called moderates in Kashmir while facing hard questions and criticism from the Indian taxpayers.

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