Syed Ali Shah Geelani Calls For Sopore Shutdown On Jan 06

Chairman Hurriyat Conference (G) Syed Ali Shah Geelani Saturday called for a shut down in Sopore town against the killing and gutting down the town on January 6, 1993.

In a statement, Hurriyat spokesperson said that there would be complete shut down on January 6 in Sopore. against the January 6, 1993 “massacre and burning of the town.”

“People will never forget the sacrifices given by the people of Kashmir during ongoing freedom struggle,” Geelani said in a statement from New Delhi.

He also said that people of Kashmir condemn the “cruel and brutal tools of the security forces to suppress the freedom movement.”

Meanwhile, Hurriyat (G) General Secretary, Ghulam Nabi Sumji along with other workers of the party said in a statement that a seminar would be conducted on 5 January, 2012, Friday.

He said that the political leaders and intellectuals would highlight the resol

ution of United Nations passed on January 6, 1949, in which they promised the people of Kashmir ‘Right to Self determination’.

He also paid tributes to those people who sacrificed their lives and other dear things in the path of freedom movement.

Qaid-e-Inquilaab Dares Omar ‘Let Us Be Free To Fight Politically’

A day after chief minister Omar Abdullah challenged separatists to “fight politically” mainstream parties, the chairman Hurriyat conference (G), Syed Ali Shah Geelani, today challenged him to let the separatist leaders be free and allow their political activities to see who is favoured in the society.

Omar Abdullah yesterday lashed out at separatists, accusing them of indulging in “hooliganism, highhandedness and muscle power”. He challenged them to “fight politically”. “If you want to fight, you should fight politically and not by means of hooliganism, highhandedness and muscle power,” he told the separatists, adding that “lies cannot live long and people cannot be hoodwinked by slogans and fear.” In his strong worded response, Geelani said the CM was ruling the state with army’s help and that without the latter’s support his government “will lose its address within a day.”

“We challenge Omar Abdullah to come out of the security cover and then fight us politically. We challenge him that the Azadi slogans will echo from every inch of Kashmir,” he said in a press statement issued here. “Let Omar Abdullah give up the security cover and also withdraw the restrictions on our political activities, the whole world will see who is favored here. The world will see what people of Kashmir want,” he challenged.

Omar, Geelani challenged, should allow the separatists to hold a rally at Lal Chowk to know the reality. “We will hold a rally at Lal Chowk and let the government not restrict it, the reality will be revealed to everyone. The rally will be a referendum,” he said. The veteran separatist also accused the ruling national conference and other mainstream parties of “hooliganism.”

“Was not killing of around 150 civilians hooliganism? Is not arresting of innocent youths hooliganism? Is not restricting the activities of separatists not hooliganism?” he questioned.

He, however, said Tariq Ahmad was killed due to personal differences, not for strike. “He was killed by some goons with malicious track record. Hartal was made just an excuse. The incident should not be linked to the pro freedom movement,” he said.

Syed Ali Geelani a person, non-corrupt and upright. with conviction

Dr Sameer Kaul, a Kashmiri Pandit and Hurriyat leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani's personal physician, speaks about the other side of the hardline separatist.

Two men at the heart of Kashmiri separatism -- hardliner Syed Ali Shah Geelani and Yasin Malik, leader of the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front -- are alive today thanks to doctors from the Kashmiri Pandit community, which was forced to flee the valley with the onslaught of militancy in 1989.Some years ago, a team of three doctors performed life-saving surgery on Geelani, now 81, in Mumbai after he was diagnosed with cancer Geelani survives on three-fourth of a kidney, and one of the doctors is now his personal physician.As someone who interacts with Geelani regularly

, Dr Sameer Kaul is probably better placed than anyone else to observe the real man behind the stubborn politician we know about.Speaking to Rediff.com's Krishnakumar Padmanabhan, not only does Dr Kaul give us an intimate view of Geelani, he also provides valuable insights into the current unrest, and how Delhi can rectify mistakes of the past.I am quite close to Geelanisaab, as a doctor should be. But my interaction with him is mostly restricted to medical discourse.As a person, he is non-corrupt and upright. He has conviction.He is disciplined and is a very meagre eater. He doesn't follow the philosophy of consumption in life. He is satisfied with the basic things.That must have helped him in becoming incorruptible.I didn't know him personally before the surgery.In my childhood, I used to ask my father who he was. My father used to say he is the man who says 'Kashmir banega Pakistan.' Such a man is anathema for me.But when I saw that even after 20 years he had not changed his stand and said the same thing, I respect that. When we met he started by offering me my fee.I reminded him about this and told him that I respect him for his steadfastness though I did not agree with his philosophy.He just had a smile and kept quiet.He was called for a interview before that for a US visa. When he was asked questions about his political beliefs, he said he is against American policy. He was very forthright.What does that tell you? He didn't lie for the sake of going to the US. He is beyond that.There are very few things you can hide from your doctor. So I can vouch that he lives a spartan life and so does his family.After an operation in Delhi, he was living in a cramped quarters with his daughter in Malviya Nagar. I warned him he might get an infection.But he told me that if he shifted, his daughter might be heartbroken that her house was not good enough for her father and he stayed put.Such a fellow has to be humane.Things like this is why I find a large part of his public image discordant. He is always with a smile. He is not a wimpy patient.I do not concern myself with his political affiliation and ideology, but I find him to be an honest and sincere man to his people, which is a far cry from what we get these days.Eighty per cent of Kashmiris will not agree with his ideology, but they respect him for being non-corrupt.They have seen all their other leaders get corrupted at some point or the other. In these two decades of strife, he is the only guy whose influence and respect among the people has only increased.I have seen all the chief ministers of the state in recent times and interacted with almost every other politician.I think a major reason for that is that he is not concerned with petty politicking and doesn't get down to the nitty-gritty.He keeps reading and writing books, and is busy translating Islamic texts.He lives in a spartan home. A lot of people put up spartan exteriors, but are quite different on the inside. But in his case, having been close to him for two decades, he is nothing like that. And you can't hide those things forever.I think he is a man of convictions who has been forced into a particular situation. I admire him for sticking to it. I don't know too many politicians who stick to their convictions for long.To top that, he is extremely humble and not greedy.He is not into dynastics and does not seek any favours for his children or sons-in-law. Neither is he into shady deals nor does he have any secret benami property.

One thing I have always thought is that he was never handled well. He was just labeled as an anti-India hawk and thus, he continues to be called so.In reality he is quite a soft guy. I do not agree with the picture that is being painted about him.I think he has always been put in a reactionary situation -- you do something and he has no way else but to react to it.He has always been pushed to a corner, where the only thing that he can do is react in the way he has.He has been demonised throughout. I don't think he had any option.There is also the angle that he is the only one who did not bend and dance to your (New Delhi's) tunes.I have so many patients who have seen him and they can't believe he is the same guy they see and hear about in the news.

am basically a Sufi at heart. Which is not what he adheres to, and I don't mix two things together.We disagreed only once. There was a Sufi saint who died three months ago. They used to call him the naked fakir. Hindus, Muslims, and Sikhs throng to his place. I visited him often.Once he (Geelani) tried to tell me that it was not right. I told him it was my philosophy and was best left alone. After that, not once did he ever touch that topic.Among his greatest strengths are that he is humble, sober, incorruptible, and a man of principles, convictions and discipline.In the last 18 years, I have been doing a free (medical) camp in Srinagar .I don't think even a Muslim politician can venture out today. If you go on to the roads, you can be pulled out and skinned.For a Kashmiri Pandit to tell you that, it has a big meaning. A part of it is that what you give is what comes back to you.When I conduct my camps -- I don't take any security with me as I have never perceived a threat -- never do I get the feeling of not being wanted.I think it is because I do not believe Kashmiris are fundamentalists. Only 10 to 15 per cent are.What is actually happening on the ground is that a sustained class war is going on there.Simultaneously, there is also the phenomenon of one kind of Islam trying to overtake another kind of Sufi Islam.In the last 15 days I have heard from many Kashmiri friends that their houses are being targeted.What is happening is that a frustrated section is taking out its anger on a well-off section. He doesn't like what he sees, and so sets out to destroy it.What worries me is that it is now even worse than 1989. Then, a lot of people got into it because there was a romanticism associated with it.

Today, what you see is extreme anger.The central political system was in deep slumber. Everything was going on under the surface and nobody woke up to it.Regarding Geelani's role in the current unrest, I am sure a lot of what is happening outside is beyond his control.He wouldn't get children out (on the streets of Kashmir), that is absolutely not on in his book. I can't believe that. I don't think that can be true.He appealed for calm and there was a lot of dissent against that. I can't speak about where is it coming from and who is supporting that.I still maintain my home in Srinagar. I have not moved out. I am part of that society.As to whether he had a role in the persecution of Pandits, when there is a mass exodus, massive things happen on a large scale, you can't single out things. You have to rise above these things.And if he was so anti-Pandit he wouldn't have come to me. I am a neutral Sufi.I believe he probably participated in the movement against the Pandits because his philosophy is fundamentalist.But there is an action-reaction situation also.The Pandits, while they were there, did not exactly have a positive disposition towards him ever.When you get relegated to a corner, you realise there is only one place open. You stay alive and occupy the space.Regarding the way he was treated he speaks about past experiences when he says he was approached, but things never happened.Had he been approached and accommodated, we would not be here today. All the time that the valley was fine, the government did nothing.We are only worried when the house catches fire. And people also realise that to get your attention, they have to burn something.This is the same story in the Maoist belt also if I am not mistaken.When it comes to Kashmir, I believe in soft power, which is the non-political space. It is non-utilised in Kashmir.We have only shown the hard face of India ] to the Kashmiris.If you realise the way our government functions it is not exactly a straightforward situation.As a nation -- this is my personal view -- we have never had a comprehensive and continuous policy towards Kashmir. It changes with various desks that handle Kashmir, and has always been discontinuous.If you talk about indoctrination, that starts at the age of 4 in rural schools. But we have never had a comprehensive group of dedicated people whose only motive is to keep Kashmir with the Union.Had that happened, would we be in this situation today after 63 years?

Face us politically,if You possess any courage.(Hurriyat to pupet regime)

APHC while condemning the house arrest of Syed Ali Geealni on 8th July and the continuous detention of other pro freedom leader ship has said that Omar Abdullah has miserably failed as a ruler and is just trying to consolidate his position and his rule through excessive use of force. Omar Abdullah does not possess the courage to face the pro freedom leadership politically and is using the state force as an escape route.

Terming the continuous detention of Muhammad Ashraf Sahrai, Ghulam Nabi Sumji, General Moosa, Aasiya Andrabi ,Raja Mehraj ud din, Mir Hafizullah and Muhammad Rafiq Ganai ,despite courts ordering their release, as political vengeance, APHC spokesperson said that the health condition of these leaders is worsening in captivity. He said that their continuous detention is a gross violation of not only human rights but of the state law as well.

Spokesperson APHC Ayaz Akbar said that Geelani was again put under house detention on the evening of 7th July when he returned from the releasing function of his autobiography “WULAR KINARAY”. Mr Geelani had to address the Friday congregation at TRC mosque in connection with the campaign of releasing political prisoners. But police crackdown not only affected this program but Mr. Geelani was not allowed to offer the Friday prayers as well.A bunker vehicle was parked in front of his residence with a huge contingent of police deployed.

Spokes person said that Mr. Geelani has been prevented from offering Friday prayers since June20 2010. In the past 382 days he has been allowed to offer this religious obligation only a few times.

Spokesperson said that it was a straight interference into the religious matters of a an individual which is not expected from a country that boosts to be ‘Secular’.

Spokesperson also expressed surprise on the conduct of the state police who hold a person literally ‘hostage’ without any order from court or administration. It is just like mafia kidnapping a person at the point of a gun and such action are nonacceptable in any part of the civilized world.

Commenting on the Continuous imprisonment of old and ailing leader Muhammad Ashraf Sahrai, Ghulam Nabi Sumji, General Moosa, Aasiya Andrabi ,Raja Mehraj ud din, Mir Hafizullah and Muhammad Rafiq Ganai ,despite court orders the spokesperson said that the government does not have any logical reason to keep these leaders in custody . Court has already passed orders for their immediate release and bail has been granted to them in all pending cases.

Spokesperson said that when all the formalities for the release of Mr Sahrai were completed police station Kupwara got judicial remand for him under a case of 2009 and he was sent back to jail.

In case of Ghulam Nabi Sumjhi when all the excuses to keep him imprisoned exhausted, he is being kept in police station Raj Bagh Heabus Carpus where he is severely ill.

Mr Sumjhi was already suffering from various ailment and his continuous imprisonement has only worsened his condition.

Commenting on the continuous arrest of Aasiya ANDRABI spokesperson said that the ruling elite in Delhi and Jammu and Kashmir have lost their conscience and they don’t even feel ashamed in imprisoning ailing women continuous detention of sister Asiya Andrabi has worsened her health to alarming condition, but the cruel rulers are not showing any mercy. Because of detention of her husband for the past so many years her children are forced to live as ‘orphans’. Paying homage to the courage and steadfastness the spokesperson said that our sister has made the nation proud through her sacrifices and proved that India despite all her force and credulity cannot make this nation to surrender before its might.

Spokes person appealed the Amnesty international and red cross to take cognizance of the severe conditions faced by the prisoners and make efforts to ensure their release.

KASHMIR SELLS

By: Raashid Ahmed ( Editor In Chief Honour Magazine)

Even ridiculously incongruous and unreasonable things make front-page news here. That is why most journalists often like their stories (news reports) datelined Kashmir. The daily Telegraph (Kolkatta) came up with a news report which, in journalistic parlance could be termed as “fine piece of excellent absurdity”. In its December 13 (2010) issue, the newspaper reported that Syed Ali Geelani is mulling handing over the baton of his political struggle to his elder son Naeem Geelani. Ironically the incredulous story was written by none other than the newspapers’ credulous Roving editor Sankarshan Thakur.

Sankarshan is a regular Kashmir visitor and is an old at reporting from here. He is known for incisive reporting and elegant writing style. Most of his Kashmir copies are insightful and discerning. But his latest Kashmir copy is, in complete sense of term, below the common standards of journalism. He appears to have either been misled by his Kashmir contacts or has himself misread Geelani’s son’s home-coming. Whatever the facts, one thing is clear that journalists, howsoever high profile they might be, are vulnerable to “plants” and “fabricated” new stories in Kashmir. They too are often carried away by misinformation and propaganda. It is for this fact that the Telegraph “scoop” was completely ignored by Kashmir-based journalists.

Naeem Geelani recently returned from Pakistan. His 12-year stay in that country had all along been apolitical and personal. He left Kashmir in 1998 when counter-insurgent Ikhwanis were virtually ruling the Kashmir street. Jamaat-e-Islami leaders and workers and their relatives were the main target of Ikhwanis. Hundreds of Jamaat leaders and supporters including Abdul Razaq Mir (who represented Kulgam constituency in state Assembly twice—1972 and 1987), Budgam district head Mohammad Ismael Butt, Dr Mahmood Ahmad (chief medical officer Anantnag), Nazir Ahmad Nayak (Tehsil Ameer Shopian), Ghulam Hassan Lone (district secretary Pulwama), Advocate Mohammad Sultan Bhat, Master Abdul Khaliq Dar besides hundreds others had been killed by the counter-insurgent Ikhwanis. Hundreds of other Jamaat activists and supporters were forced to migrate from their localities to safer places.

Syed Ali Geelani, being the prominent face of the Jamaat, was no exception. The Ikhwanis shot dead Geelani’s brother-in-law Habeebullah Makhdoomi at Tujjar in Sopore. They sealed off Geelani’s house at Dooru throwing the inmates out on the road. The Ikhwanis later blasted the house by IEDs. By then Geelani, for political exigency, had settled in Srinagar. The Ikhwanis fired rockets and grenades at his house in Srinagar several times. He also escaped an attempt on his life when Ikhwanis intruded into his house at Hyderpora on December 31, 1997 allegedly to kill him. Geelani then alleged that the attackers had army’s cover. Timely intervention by police saved him. The Ikhwanis also hunted for Geelani’s relatives. A group of Ikhwan gunmen raided Soura Medical Institute to fix his son Naeem, who was a doctor there. Naeem somehow escaped the Ikhwan raid and fled to Delhi wherefrom he went to Pakistan. Naeem traveled to Pakistan on a valid passport. It is a widely known fact, including for all the government agencies, that Naeem restricted himself to his medical profession without indulging in political activism in Pakistan. That was perhaps the reason that the government agencies allowed his safe return. Reading politics in it would simply be exhibiting ignorance about how leadership evolves in Jamaat-e-Islami.

Personality cults and family legacy are not factors in the organizational and leadership building of Jamaat-e-Islami. It has a well-defined system of evolving new leadership where merit (of a person) counts as the only prerequisite. Before deliberating on the issue of leadership in the Jamaat it is important to understand what the party stands for and how does its organizational structure work.

Jamaat-e-Islami, in essence, is the Islamic revivalist movement based and evolved around a revolutionary concept of Islam. Its intellectual inspiration comes from the writings and thoughts of Syyed Abul A’la Maududi, who along with the great Islamic poet and thinker Dr Iqbal tremendously influenced contemporary Muslim thinking in south Asia. Jamaat was set up by Moulana Maududi on August 26, 1941 at Lahore.

“The objective of the Islamic movement, in this world, is revolution in leadership. A leadership that has rebelled against God and His guidance and is responsible for the suffering of mankind has to be replaced by a leadership that is God-Conscious, righteous and committed to following Divine guidance. This implies a change of leadership at all levels of life--intellectual, moral, technological, social, economic and political, national and international-- and the reorganization of human life to accord with the ideals and values revealed by God for the guidance of mankind. Striving to achieve this noble purpose, we believe, will secure God's favor in this world and the next” ("Objective of the Islamic Movement by Sayyid Abul A'la Maududi)

This makes Jamaat distinctively different from other political, cultural and social organizations. It also lays down the rules for the leadership in the Jamaat. It is the level of Islamic learning, commitment to following Divine Guidance, voluntary participation, dedication and contribution to the cause and party that matters most in the Jamaat. The supporters (of the party) are sorted keeping in mind their understanding, commitment and dedication to the party. The Jamaat hierarchy, at the bottom, begins with the sympathizer (Hamdard or Muttasir), then the Affiliate (Muttafiq), then associate member (Umeedwar-e-Rukniyat) and finally basic member (rukun). It is the rukun (basic member) who is qualified for any political or administrative assignment in the party. The first two categories (Hamdard and Muttafiq) have no official role in the party. They are those who favour Islamic order and help in spreading the message of the Jammat. They rather serve as a pool from which basic members are drawn.

No one can claim for basic membership (rukniyat) without traversing through the first two categories. It takes years (on occasions more than 10 years) to get the membership of the Jamaat. How difficult is it to become rukun of the Jamaat can be understood by the fact that despite being 65-year old party (Jamaat in Kashmir was formed in 1945) the Jamaat, in Jammu and Kashmir, has just around 2000 basic members (arkaan).

The arkaan too have been categorized differently according to their capacity, share of knowledge, Islamic learning, social service, public standing and, over and above all, dedication to the party and commitment to its cause. It is the degree of knowledge of Islam (Quran, hadith, Seerat—life of Prophet Peace Be Upon Him—Fiqah, history and other sources of Islamic knowledge) and “taqwa” (true love and fear of Allah manifested in pure acts of worship) that qualifies a rukun for a party post. The Ameer (party chief) has to be the most knowledgeable and God-fearing person. One is not entitled to any position in the Jamaat barely for being a son, daughter or a close relative of a party leader. That is why we do not see any of the sons of Moulana Maudoodi (the founder of Jamaat-e-Islami) occupying any position in Pakistan Jamaat-e-Islami. In Kashmir too none of the sons of Jamaat founders Moulana Saad-Ud-Din, Qari Saifuddin and Moulana Ghulam Ahmad Ahraar or any other leader have ever held any position in the Jamaat hierarchy.

The rukniyat (basic membership) is not absolute. It is conditioned with the person’s continued dedication and commitment with the party. A rukun is supposed to lose his membership soon after he gets lackadaisical in performing the party duty. Syed Ali Geelani was suspended from the rukniyat of the party in 1977 for preferring his political engagements (he was MLA then) over party assignments. Moulana Hakeem Ghulam Nabi (late), one of the senior-most Jamaat leaders who after Moulana Saad-Ud-Din served as Ameer-e-Jamaat for maximum period, too was suspended for same reasons from the basic membership of the party.

Syed Ali Geelani is not in the Jamaat now but all the office bearers and cadres of his Tehreek-e-Hurriyat are from Jamaat-e-Islami. The Tehreek’s leadership, organizational structure, intellectual inspiration, political material, cadre building and operational methodology—all has been derived from the Jamaat. The Tehreek general secretary Ashraf Sahrayee has served Jamaat as general secretary for quite a long time. He is respected as the most selfless, committed and scholarly leader by Jamaat cadres. He has set the Jamaat standards in building Tehreek as a leading politico-religious entity. Dr Ghulam Mohammad Ganai, Shah Wali Mohammad, Shaikh Mohammad Abdullah, Ayaz Akbar, Altaf Shah, who form the Tehreek’s top leadership are all from Jamaat-e-Islami.

Syed Ali Geelani is well aware of these standard procedures and principles of leadership building in Jamaat. It would be naïve to think and say that Geelani would appoint his son or any other relative as his successor.

A middle-rung leader of the Tehreek told the Honour that, in 2007, Naeem Geelani briefly returned from Pakistan and applied for the membership of the Tehreet-e-Hurriyat. But Ashraf Sahrayee rejected his form saying “he (Naeem) does not qualify for the Tehreek membership”. He said that it was the only occasion when Naeem had exhibited interest in party and politics.
Moving beyond the Jamaat and Tehreek, dynasty politics and pedigree has no scope in freedom movements too. It is the personal investment in terms of commitment to the cause and the readiness to sacrifice for the cause that makes one relevant to the situations in freedom movements. In power politics it is easy to rise on the father’s shoulders but freedom movements demand personal involvement and investment. Despite having the baggage of mainstream politics, Syed Ali Geelani today stands tall of all leaders not for the stamina and stock he comes from. It is rather the honesty of the purpose, consistency, determination and perseverance that has elevated him in stature and standing of all other leaders.

There is no denying the fact that many people in Kashmir share little with Geelani’s ideology (he is pro-Pakistan) and methodology. But he is praised by his admirers and opponents equally. A few years back I, along with Nazir Masoodi (NDTV), happened to meet Gujjar spiritual leader Mian Bashir at his Baba Nagri residence in Kangan. He was all praise for Syed Ali Geelani. “I do not agree with his (Geelani) political or religious ideology but I respect him as the most honest political voice in Kashmir,” Mian said. “He has just one stand, and does not dither left and right,” he added though with some disdain for other leaders who claim to be espousing cause of freedom.
Syed Ali Shah Geelani recently featured in MENSXP.com’s nomination list of most powerful 20 politicians who influenced the course of year 2010 in India. Geelani achieved an average score of 9.30 out of 10 from the voters as compared to 3.9 to Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh. The MENSXP.com defined the octogenarian Geelani as a prominent political leader from Jammu and Kashmir and the political face of 'Azadi'. The online magazine said Geelani’s ‘X’ factor has been his ability to lead despite surviving a renal cancer and his adamancy to court arrest and controversy for the Azadi cause. Geelani launched “quit Kashmir” campaign last year which paralyzed Kashmir for five months.

Today when age and health are not on Geelani’s side, deliberating on his successor is all but natural. As a neutral observer, one is constrained to say that the nominations and designations matter little in such movements. It is the appeal and attraction of the person that brings him into the focus of attention.

There is a battery of other leaders in Geelani-led Tehreek and Hurriyat Conference, who have carved out a niche for themselves by their conduct, commitment and conviction. Ashraf Sahrayee, Masarat Alam Bhat and Ghulam Nabi Sumjhi are three prominent faces who are known for their uncompromising and hardnosed character. While Ashraf Sahrayee’s leadership qualities are not hidden, Masarat Alam, as leader, made his impression during last year’s “quit Kashmir” movement. What makes them more relevant is the strong record of personal and

individual sacrifices they made.

The High Court Bar President Mian Abdul Qayoom is another man to be

watched. Mian Qayoom led a successful campaign in 2008 to force government to withdraw land allotm ent order to Shri Amarnath Shrine Board. The land row agitation lasted for about three months during which some of the biggest ever freedom rallies (at Eid Gah, TRC Ground and Pampore) were held besides the attempt at a cross LOC march in which hundred s of thousands of people participated.

On the other side of the separatist spectrum Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, Shabir Shah , Yasin Malik, Professor Abdul Gani Bhat, Bilal Gani Lone, Naeem Khan and several others could not be ignored. "Mirwaiz represents a strong family constituency in old Srinagar which serves as his ready-made audience. But he is facing a strange kind of conflict. While his followers are mostly pro-Pakistan, Mirwaiz is open to other ideas as well. That has made his position shaky even

among his own followers."For his long spell in jails and commitment to his cause, Shabir Shah is another contender. The pro-independence thought as propounded by JKLF is perhaps the most popular and commonly accepted in Kashmir. Its leaders in both camps (JKLF is divided in two factions) could exploit it to their advantage. Yasin Malik, the most prominent in all factions of JKLF has been trying to consolidate this ideological acceptance into grass-root level support. In the past he undertook two major ventures (signature campaign and Safar-e-Azadi) across the state to consolidate his support base.

However, if Geelani indicates his choice from among a few names acceptable to the Jamaat idealogy that may carry a lot of weight.