More than anyone or anything, the political demise of Syed Ali Shah Geelani has vindicated leaders like Maqbool Bhat, who said no to Pakistan at a time when Geelani worshipped it, and ofcourse lended more credibility to the stand of likes of Qayoom Najar and Zakir Musa. 1/n
Geelani's fans and friends may try to spin or twist the reasons behind his voluntary retirement from Hurriyat Conference, but each of them would agree on the fact that Pakistan is the villain in Geelani's political demise. 2/n
Maqbool Bhat was perhaps the first Kashmiri leader who had understood what Pakistan is upto in Kashmir. When Maqbool was resisting both India and Pakistan, Mr. Geelani was serving legislator. For Geelani, Maqbool Bhat was a dacoit and ofcourse a double agent.
Even though Geelani swore on Indian constitution for nearly 15 years, his love for Pakistan wasn't a secret. After militancy erupted in Kashmir, Geelani utilised all his energy to discredit pro-independence JKLF led by Ashfaq Majeed Wani. He branded them hooligans & secular.
How Pakistan crushed pro-independence militants of Kashmir with the help of Hizbul Mujahideen is no secret. And, how Mr. Geelani provided ideological support for the obliteration of JKLF and the like-minded forces is known to all. Just for the sake of Pakistan.
In 2004, Geelani engineered a split in United Hurriyat Conference. The reason he had cited was to gather 'pukhta eenten' [solid bricks] under one banner which which become known as Hurriyat [G]. For him, Mirwaiz & his men weren't loyal to the movement & hence a separate forum.
Until Zardari era, Geelani was largely sidelined by Pakistani state. His Hurriyat wasn't recognised officially by Pakistan. However back in Kashmir, Geelani was seen as a hawkish figure, a hardline Islamist who was loved by youth for his "uncompromising stance".
The mass uprisings of 2008 and 2010 gave a new lease of life to Kashmir resistance. The young generation came eye-to-eye with Indian state. The separatist politicians like Geelani came out of oblivion. The year 2010 uprising in particular was a watershed moment for Kashmir.
After virtually idolising the hawk, the first bitter ideological encounter between Kashmir youth & Geelani was on the issue of stonepelting post-2008. With stones emerging as a new weapon for youngsters against India, Geelani's dilemma over supporting/opposing created fissures.
But the real ideological fissures started in August 2010, when Mr. Geelani in pursuit of political space, overtly condemned stonepelting and the mob attacks on police stations and other security installations. Kashmir was on edge and Geelani's statement triggered youth rage.
The 2010 uprising fizzled out after 120 deaths, countless injuries and hundreds of arrests. Masarat Aalam, the man who led the uprising by evading security establishment for months, was finally arrested. With winter setting, Geelani flew to Delhi for vacations.
Kashmir witnessed a low intensity unrest after 2010. In 2013, Afzal Guru was hanged but there was no 2010-like uprising. However, months passed, young men started to vanish into jungles and thus emerged men like Burhan & Zakir. But Pakistan remained unchallenged in Kashmir.
The first challenge for Geelani and Pakistan in Kashmir came in the form of Qayoom Najar in 2015. Najar, as was reported widely then, had understood the dirty games of Hurriyat and Pakistan in Kashmir. Thus, he started doing what Pakistan & its stooges disliked.
With Qayoom Najar hitting Geelani's men in Sopore, the old man without wasting a second branded Qayoom Najar as an Indian agent. His actions were termed unislamic and anti-movement. Infact, Geelani along with Yasin Malik & Mirwaiz called for a strike against Qayoom Najar.
Geelani, Salahuddin and Pakistan along with their supporters launched a massive character assassination campaign against Qayoom Najar and his aides. But Najar was unfazed & accused Hurriyat leaders of getting militants killed by India. For ref: kashmirlife.net/we-arent-india…
To some extent, Geelani managed to turn the public opinion against Qayoom Najar. In 2017, Qayoom Najar was killed on LoC in Baramulla and the tip-off reportedly came from Pakistan. Geelani & co. eulogised him, shamelessly.
Between 2015-2017, the Islamist ideology of AQ and ISIS started to take roots in Kashmir. Geelani openly opposed the groups like AQ, ISIS, Taliban because they posed a threat to pro-Pakistan ideology that he espoused and tried to pass off as an Islamic ideology.
The emergence of Zakir Musa drew the battle lines in Kashmir. Once again, Geelani as a loyal soldier of Pakistan, launched a massive character assassination campaign against Musa and his men. Geelani had no answers for the questions posed by Musa over the role of Pakistan in K.
Today, Mr. Geelani complains of irregularities, nepotism, bypassing of Kashmiri leadership and his colleagues' lack of interest in the movement. But he would be well aware of the fact that nothing happens without the involvement of Pakistani state.
Geelani owes an apology to all the living & dead whom he tried to discredit in his lifetime. If he is the well-wisher of Kashmiris, he should tell people that they shouldn't trust Pakistan. As a wiseman once said: 'Nations have no faith, they care only about their interests.'
