For the “greater benefit of the tehreek," corruption and unaccountability were overlooked, confesses SA Geelani in his resignation letter

His letter validates what Zakir Musa, Qayoom Najar said years ago.  

inam ul rehman

In June this year, an audio conversation between the then Jaish-e-Mohammad chief of Kashmir, Mufti Waqas, and Ansar Ghazwatul Hind chief, Zakir Musa, was released by al Qaeda’s media platform. In the said conversation Mufti Waqas tells Musa that he has been to Afghanistan and fought there, “I swear the sacrifices,” he says, “that Kashmiris have given are unparalleled, but this nation has got traitor leaders.”

Jaish is a pro-Pakistan militant outfit, and in conflict with the AGH ideology. Here Mufti Waqas is talking in personal capacity because he understood that the Jihadi project run by Pakistan and its proxies in Kashmir is a business for both of them. In the same conversation he raises suspicion on the killing of many Jaish commanders in Kashmir saying that those who understood the tehreek in Kashmir get killed.  Mufti Waqas was killed in 2018. His audio conversation with Musa was released after two years, as is the norm with al Qaeda outfit. 

It is not a new thing that was said about the present “resistance” leadership. Most of the present political “resistance” leadership is rehashed one. They took part in elections under Indian constitution, took oath to protect the sovereignty and integrity of the Indian state. Syed Ali Geelani, a three time MLA was receiving pension until 2007 when it became a major issue on his credibility, his friend Ghulam Nabi Sumji, general secretary of the Hurriyat, still receives MLA pension despite calling boycott to elections, despite dishing out diatribe against elected members of the state assembly.

Now on June 29, Geelani resigns from his faction of the Hurriyat Conference. He puts up his resignation in two-page letter rather than on copious paper, as is his wont. Besides, a portion of letter was hushed up in Kashmir but one, which according to Indian journalist, Praveen Swami, his son-in-law (although he erroneously mentions him son), Zahoor Geelani, confirmed was also a part of it.   

Reading this letter gives an interesting insight to the mind and intellect of Geelani. I will restrict myself to these two letters.

A background check of Geelani

When the present armed tehreek started in the late 80s Syed Ali Geelani was a sitting MLA. It was fifth time he fought for state assembly elections, besides taking part in three Indian parliamentary elections as well. He was declared winner in 1987 assembly election that most Kashmiris consider were rigged. But he refused to resign in protest and continued to enjoy the perks of sitting MLA. As the insurgency against the Indian rule spread with militants threating to kill anyone who sides with India, Geelani resigned. After that with Pakistan pumping in Islamist Hizb-ul-Mujahedeen, armed wing of the Jamaat-i-Islami, to the Kashmir conflict the Hizb made sure that everyone in Kashmir should hear that Geelani is not only their leader but the leader of the tehreek. It shot Geelani to limelight. Otherwise it is hard to fathom that Geelani had any support outside Sopore. The ascendancy of the Hizb in Kashmir also marked the rise of Geelani. And not surprisingly both of them fell together.

Decimation of the Hizb and fall of Geelani

This year in June back-to-back encounters led to the killing of 15 militants of the Hizb. What was surprising in these killings that most of the militants had no, or little ammunition with them. If these militants belonged to al Qaeda affiliate Ansar Ghazwat ul Hind, or Islamic State affiliate in Kashmir it was understood, but militants of the Hizb not having ammunition is surprising. 

Surprising because the Hizb overtly fights for Pakistan, and decimated everyone in the 90s who stood in opposition of it. The Hizb got best of resources from Pakistan. The latter never stopped arms and ammunition, men to the Hizb. But since 2019, the killed commander Riyaz Naikoo was spilling the beans in his audio messages to his leadership based in Pakistan administered Kashmir that arms are being withheld from them. With India abrogating the last remains of Articles 370, and 35A, Hizb was unable to do anything other than issuing threating posters, and allegedly killing truck drivers, labourers coming from India.

With the coming of the Resistance Front, Pakistan showed its intention that the Hizb is no longer its favourite militant party. And as the main supporter of the Hurriyat and its militant affiliates Pakistan had genuine reasons for it.

In the audio conversation Jaish chief in Kashmir reveals to Zakir that arms (alluding to Pakistan) are withheld to the Hizb because most of them fear that its cadres would defect to the AGH. A valid observation. The AGH has emerged ideologically indispensable which Pakistan along with the Hurriyat and its militant affiliates, and pro-merger intellectuals were unable to curb ideologically or through coercive force. In the same audio Musa tells Mufti Waqas that some Hizb cadres would fire near their hideouts to rat on for the Indian forces. It was déjà vu of the 90s. But that time other militant organisations had no alternative with the Hizb getting lion’s share in the local media. This time social media has flattened the curve, and as such Hizb’s tactics were not working much to the annoyance of Pakistani handlers. The second worry for Pakistan would have been that the Research and Analysis Wing of India was nearly successful in planting its man in the upper echelons of the Hizb. If policeman Naveed Babu had not been arrested along with deputy superintendent of police, Devendra Singh, in a chance encounter, the former would have been in Pakistan administered Kashmir and directing the Hizb from there as per his handlers in India (https://www.news18.com/news/india/raw-used-rogue-police-officer-davinder-singh-in-operation-to-infiltrate-hizb-say-police-intel-sources-2470201.html)

Coming up of The Resistance Front

Among a plethora of reasons why The Resistance Front came up, one is the sword of FATF hanging on Pakistan. Second, religious militancy has hit back the Pakistani state badly with clamour of turning Pakistan into an Islamic state governed by Sharia laws.  Pakistan may have got impetus also because a section of vocal Kashmiris do not want Islamist organisation in their midst to lead them. It started paying tribute to militants of the Hizb by quoting a well-known gay poet Aga Shahid Ali. A gay poet’s poetry used to pay tributes to Islamist militants is sacrilege that the Hizb leadership had to gulp.

The RF’s ambitions are also restricted to domicile issues of Kashmir.

Geelani shooed away by Pakistan

The Pakistani state smartly discarded Geelani, first paralysing Hizb thus nipping any idea of revolt, then went after him. If the Indian state has no hesitation in discarding its compradors be it the Abdullahs, and Muftis, why should Pakistani state not do the same! States are not based on morals, emotions or empathy. Their interests are paramount on everything.

Pakistan may have been waiting that Geelani may die due to old age and as such provide a graceful exit to him, but he didn’t. The Pakistan intentions may have been conveyed to him that may be the reason why a video of Geelani incanting “Pak sarzameen” was released in the month of February to thwart attempts to remove him. It didn’t work (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vBipuED_iEE).

So, Geelani did what most Kashmiris do when they are removed from any organisation. He accuses everyone of betraying him, indulging in loot, indiscipline, but absolves himself from any wrongdoing. Forgetting that for the past 16 years he was the kingpin under whom every noxious thing was done.

Absolving himself from the rot that is in the Hurriyat

Geelani in his letter takes moral high ground. He says because members of the Hurriyat Conference in Pakistan administered Kashmir “were after administrative post, hobnobbed with ministers, conspired against each other, some of them were involved in financial bungling’s” blah, blah, blah. Then he writes that his messages for the Kashmir nation emanating from Pak administered Kashmir were made suspicious. He says that even his last will in which he had expressly stated that his son would lead the funeral prayer, indicating his son taking over the leadership from him, was put under a cloud of doubt with an enquiry committee formed to check its veracity. 

He accuses his party members of not doing anything after the abrogation of Articles 370, and 35A! He accuses members, those who were not arrested, shunning their responsibility post the abrogation of Articles 370, 35A!  A blatant lie that his bosom friend, Mohammad Ashraf Sehrai, debunked in October 2019. Speaking to a group of journalists at his home, when “Pressed on why he had chosen silence, Sehrai said the initiative should have come from Geelani or the Mirwaiz as they had been issuing “protest calendars” all these years. He said he had had no contact with either and that when he had reached out to men close to them, there was ‘no response’.” (https://www.telegraphindia.com/india/kashmir-decoding-silence-of-the-hawks/cid/1718624).

Geelani accuses his party member’s of money laundering giving credence to vogue accusations levelled by the people of Kashmir on most Hurriyat leaders and activists. He further writes that ineptitude, corruption, unaccountability, in the ranks was covered for the “greater interest of the tehreek”! Do people like Qasim Faktoo, Masrat Alam, Shafi Shariti, Aasiya Andrabi, et al, also come in this list?

What does a common Kashmiri make of his corruption charges? For years Indian media, and a few journalists of Kashmir would tell us that the Hurriyat leaders have amassed huge properties on the blood of common Kashmiris in the name of this tehreek! That the Hurriyat organises protests in lieu of money, as its member Nayeem Khan confessed, in a sting operation is also known in many quarters. (https://www.news18.com/news/politics/hurriyat-suspends-nayeem-khan-after-he-admits-to-organising-unrest-in-kashmir-1407393.html) But, like everything, Hurriyat brushes them as an Indian propaganda.

As the head of the party the fault lies with him for allowing everything to happen. It is his failure, failure of leadership, failure of vision, that corruption allowed anywhere is not going to benefit any tehreek in any which way.

A part of the resignation letter that was hashed up, but authenticated by his son-in-law, is also revealing. The Hurriyat has not rebutted it. Here in this part he accuses his benefactor of turning the tehreek of Kashmir into their vested interests and carrying illegal drug trafficking in the name of the tehreek. 

If these words ring a bell in your minds, a militant called Qayoom Najar had raised questions of accountability on the Hurriyat in 2015, but then the same Geelani along with the Hizb went after him and branded him a government of India agent. A militant for 23 years, Najar was finally killed when a tip off came from Pakistan (https://kashmirdispatch.com/2018/01/10/militant-among-militants-life-and-times-of-qayoom-najar/150834/).

Zakir Musa, whom the same Geelani’s organisation was hell bent to prove him an agent working for the interests of India, has spoken regularly how Pakistan is using the Kashmir card for its own vested interests. Musa and his organisation have maintained that the Jihadi project of Pakistan is nothing but a business for it and its supporters in Kashmir.

Geelani’s failure in the early 2000s was masked because opposition voices were muzzled, or silenced forever by his militant followers. The coming up of social media busted the myth that Geelani is undisputed leader, it also made it difficult for Geelani and his ilk to hide their failures. 

Rather than gracefully stepping down, and realising that no one is indispensible Geelani tries to present himself as holier than thou person. The letter he circulated will prove a death kneel for his reputation.

For his die hard supporters Geelani’s resignation means purification process, for detractors it is surrender, and in between these extremes are the people who count one more leader falling when the state’s posture hardened.    

Not that Geelani, and Hizb would disappear. The Pakistani state would continue to use them like the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front. And it may not be a surprise if Syed Salahuddin takes over as a political representative of the Hurriyat Conference.