Srinagar : Even though majority leaders and activists of both the factions of the Hurriyat Conference (HC) are under detention since August 15, 2019, fresh reports of ban being imposed on them (moderate and hardline) has pressed a panic button in the valley, where people are not ready to discuss about it.
The office of moderate HC, headed by Mirwiaz Moulvi Omar Farooq, presently under house arrest for the past over 24 months, is locked though the signboard was still there at Raj Bagh Zero bridgei n Srinagar. The main gate was locked and nobody was inside. People there said they have not seen any leader or activists in the HC office for the past two years.
However, the joint sign board of hardline HC and Tehreek-e-Hurriyat (TeH) near the house of Syed Ali Shah Geelani at Hyderpora has been removed after media reports that Union Home Ministry (UHM) will impose ban on both the factions under Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA).
The UHM has already declared Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF), Jamait-e-Islami banned in 2019 besides all militant groups are also banned in Jammu and Kashmir since 90s.
Senior JKLF leaders, including its chairman Mohammad Yaseen Malik are also under detention in different cases, including terror funding. JKLF is issuing statements on political situation in the Jammu and Kashmir from time to time.
Interestingly both the factions are not issuing any political statement since the arrest of their leaders.
Immediately after media reports that UHM is considering ban on HC, hardline faction immediately removed signboard from the building, near the residence of Geelani, which was being used as office of TeH and HC at Hyderpora on the outskirts of Srinagar.
There is also no chairman of the hardline HC after Geelani stepped down as its chairman and head of TeH. However, Mohammad Ashraf Khan alias Sehrayee was appointed chairman of TeH who later died in a Jammu hospital under detention on May 5, 2021. Sehrayee’s son, a militant of Hizbul Mujahideen (HM) Juanid Sehrayee was killed in an encounter with security forces in the down town city in May 2020.
There is a fresh wave of panic among those who were in any way remotely associated with HC or rented their property to them for office. Nobody in the valley was ready to speak about the reports of ban on both the factions of HC because of fear of being arrested. The government has already terminated the services of some employees for their association with separatists in the valley.
The mainstream political parties, including National Conference (NC) , Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), are also silent over the issue. However, these parties are demanding release of detenues, including Mirwaiz.
The recent revelation that separatist leaders, particularly associated with hardline HC were helping Kashmiri students to get admission in medical colleges in Pakistan and Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (POK) after collecting money from them. The money was being used for separatist activities, the report said.
It was in 1993 when militancy was at its peak in the valley, 26 groups formed HC and Awami Action Committee (AAC) head Mirwiaz Omar Farooq was appointed its first chairman. However, Geelani parted ways and formed a parallel HC while another was headed by Mirwaiz.
