Crowd puller: A file photo of Syed Ali Geelani in Srinagar.
Hurriyat chairman Syed Ali Geelani, 90, on Monday decided to quit the conglomerate, without divulging his future course of action.
“I have decided to distance myself from the Hurriyat given the current situation [in the amalgamate],” an ailing Mr. Geelani said in an audio message. He said all the constituents of his faction of the Hurriyat had been informed, in a detailed letter, about the decision.
Mostly under house arrest since 2013 at his Srinagar residence, Mr. Geelani, a crowd-puller, was associated with the Jamaat-e-Islami but left it to float his own political organisation, the Tehreek-e-Hurriyat. He also split from the Mirwaiz Umar Farooq faction of the Hurriyat over the approaches adopted to resolve the Kashmir problem.
Mr. Geelani, known for his hardline ideology, advocated accession of J&K to Pakistan.
He, however, did not clarify if he had resigned from the Tehreek-e-Hurriyat.
In the past two years, his health had deteriorated significantly, a family member said. “No one outside the family is allowed to see him.”
Sources said Mr. Geelani’s resignation was due to the internal feud in the Hurriyat. It is likely to pave the way for a new leadership in the Hurriyat, which faced a massive clampdown in the run-up to the abrogation of J&K’s special status last year. Mr. Geelani had opposed the move and asked the Centre to work on a political resolution through dialogue with the Hurriyat and Pakistan.
BJP national general secretary Ram Madhav also tweeted about Mr. Geelani’s resignation.
BJP leader Aijaz Hussian said, “Other Hurriyat leaders should call it a day and realise their mistakes. India is the only way forward for all those who believed otherwise”.
Senior party leader Avinash Rai Khana described the resignation of Mr. Geelani as “a biggest benefit of the removal of Article 370”.
There has been no reaction from the other constituents of the Hurriyat.
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