Hardline Kashmiri separatist Syed Ali Geelani said yesterday he would launch his own political party and appealed to all those who want âan end to Indian occupationâ of the strife-racked region to join. The 73-year-old pro-Pakistan firebrand, who spent 14 years in prison for his opposition to Indiaâs rule in Jammu and Kashmir, made the announcement while addressing worshippers celebrating Eid Al-Adha. âI have decided to form a new party,â Geelani said in the town of Sopore in the north of Jammu and Kashmir, which has been racked by a deadly separatist revolt since 1989. He called on âall those who want an end to Indian occupationâ in Kashmir to join, although he did not say when he would launch the party.
| "I'm 73 years old. Sometimes I forget things. Do you collect the donations and then launch the party? Or do you launch the party and then collect the donations? |
Last September, Geelani became leader of a breakaway faction of the regionâs main separatist alliance, the All Parties Hurriyat Conference, after hardliners expressed no confidence in its moderate chairman, Maulana Abbas Ansari. Both factions say they are the real Hurriyat, but Geelani has no party of his own.
| So even though he's the real Hurriyat, he's not much of a Hurriyat. |
Four of the seven executive parties of Hurriyat have supported Ansari, while three have maintained their distance from both factions.
| So he's got no party and he's got no support, but he's still the real Hurriyat? |
Geelaniâs announcement came after moderate separatists held landmark talks in New Delhi last month on ending the revolt in the region held in part by nuclear rivals India and Pakistan and claimed in full by both. |