The J&K Apni Party (JKAP) has opened channels of communication with a senior separatist leader, associated with the Hurriyat, to join the party in Srinagar.
Sources within the JKAP confirmed to The Hindu that the party president Altaf Bukhari met senior separatist leaders, including Prof. Abdul Ghani Bhat from the Mirwaiz Umar Farooq-led Hurriyat and Aga Syed Hassan Mosavi Al Safavi, a senior Shia leader from the Hurriyat once headed by Syed Ali Shah Geelani, in the recent past.
However, a close aide of the Aga told The Hindu these meetings as “one between individuals and has nothing political about it”. The reports of the Aga joining any political party “was completely a lie and baseless”, he said.
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“The meeting people across the ideological shades is part of the institutional position that Aga saheb holds. Besides that, Aga saheb is one of the senior most leaders of Jammu and Kashmir and has been working on philanthropy, inter-community and faith dialogue. Accessibility of Aga Saheb should not be interpreted on any political agenda,” the aide said.
Earlier, an officer bearer associated with Hurriyat leader Masroor Ansari, who heads the Ittihadul Muslimeen, joined the JKAP. Mr. Ansari, taking a strong note of the development, said, “Denial and deviation from the fundamental principles of our organization was not acceptable under any circumstances. We are committed to save the credibility of the party and the principles of our Late founder in particular. Any person holding any position will be thrown out from the party if he acts contrary to the organizational constitution and fundamental rules.”
‘Embrace the decision’
Referring to the development, Imran Ansari, a mainstream Shia cleric associated with Sajad Lone’s Peoples Conference, said, “I warmly embrace this decision as today, the General Secretary of a separatist organization has joined a mainstream political party as a Vice Provincial President Kashmir.”
Mr. Ansari said his late father consistently advocated that our destiny was intertwined with India and within India. “Regrettably, many of you did not heed his counsel and chose the path of separatism. Consequently, we the Shias of J&K have endured profound economic, political, and social hardships, and the tragic loss of countless lives in senseless violence,” Mr. Ansari said.
He said the specific political party may be inconsequential, “what truly matters is your transition into mainstream politics”. “Our future unequivocally resides with India, and it will always remain within the embrace of India,” he added.
Hurriyat factions remain organisations on the papers after the administration arrested its top-ranking leadership in a crackdown started in 2017. Scores of senior Hurriyat leaders from these factions are facing detention at present. Hurriyat chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq is also placed under house arrest since 2019. Masrat Aalam, who heads another faction of the Hurriyat, is also behind the bars.
