Union Home Minister Amit Shah announced on Thursday that separatism in Jammu and Kashmir is on the verge of extinction, as two more factions have disavowed their association with the separatist movement.
"Another major breakthrough from the Kashmir Valley—two more groups associated with the Hurriyat, i.e., J&K Tahreeqi Isteqlal and J&K Tahreek-I-Istiqamat, have given up separatism and put their trust in the new Bharat imagined by Prime Minister Shri @narendramodi Ji," Shah posted on 'X'.
He added that separatist movements are declining under the Modi government, and a wave of oneness is sweeping across Kashmir.
Two other organizations, the JK People's Movement (JKPM) and the Democratic Political Movement (DPM), cut ties with the Hurriyat Conference earlier this week as well.
Advocate Mohammad Shafi Reshi, chairman of DPM, previously served as the political secretary to the late Syed Ali Geelani, a hardline separatist leader. Meanwhile, Mohammad Shahid Mir, chairman of JKPM, has also publicly rejected separatism and distanced his party from the Hurriyat Conference. Notably, Shafi Reshi is the uncle of Yasir Reshi, a former legislator and member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), led by Mehbooba Mufti.
Mohammad Shahid Mir, a resident of Poonch district, is popular for his active social media presence. As the president of JKPM, he has been instrumental in condemning separatist politics.
The All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC), a conglomerate of 26 political, social, and religious groups, was initially formed on March 9, 1993, as a joint front of the militant movement.
Mehmood Ahmed Saghar was the initial convener of the APHC-PoK when the coalition came into being in 1993. With time, Hurriyat Conference divided into two major factions: the Mirwaiz faction headed by Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and the Geelani faction, originally established by Syed Ali Geelani. After Geelani's death, Masarat Alam Bhat became the acting chairman of his faction.
Ever since August 5, 2019—when Jammu & Kashmir was reorganized into two Union Territories and Articles 370 and 35A were abrogated—the Hurriyat Conference has remained dormant.
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