Internet services to be suspended in Kashmir: IGP Kashmir

Ground Report | New Delhi: Internet services to be suspended; Jammu and Kashmir Police today said that internet service will be completely suspended in Kashmir valley, as yed Ali Shah Geelani, separatist leader from Jammu and Kashmir passed away.

Internet services to be suspended

Jammu and Kashmir Police today said that internet service will be completely suspended in Kashmir valley.

Meanwhile, sources said that the security establishment has decided to make elaborate arrangements in wake of the Geelani’s demise. “Restrictions imposed including suspension of internet services in the Valley,” IGP Kashmir Vijay Kumar said, as per News Agency GNS.

Who was Syed Ali Shah Geelani?

Syed Ali Shah Geelani is a controversial figure in the Kashmiri political circles and leader of the Tehreek-e-Hurriyat faction of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) known for its hardline approach towards the Indian government.

Born in Bandipora area of northern Kashmir on September 29, 1929, Geelani received his preliminary education at Sopore and finished his studies at the Oriental College, Lahore (then undivided India).

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Geelani initially formed the Tehreek-e-Hurriyat in the early days of his political career, but then abandoned the platform to join the more established Jamaat-e-Islami (Jammu and Kashmir), now banned.

He now uses the name of his original political party for his faction of the APHC, in contrast with the faction led by Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, which is known as the "moderate" APHC.

Geelani had helped form the APHC in 1993, along with Umar Farooq, Abdul Gani Lone (of the People's Conference), Maulvi Abbas Ansari (of the Liberation Council) and Abdul Ghani Bhat (of the Muslim Conference). He succeeded Farooq, the body's founding chairman, in 1997.

The separatist leader, in general, has taken the position that Kashmir must have the right of self-determination, but specifically advocates the position of union with Pakistan.

Political career

He began his political career in 1950 and has spent, all told, more than a decade in jail. He was first imprisoned in 1962 but has spent several spells in prison (ranging from days at a time to just over a year) from then onwards. The JI leader has frequently termed polls held under the Indian government as a "sham".

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Former J&K chief minister Omar Abdullah has repeatedly accused Geelani for the rise of militancy in Kashmir. Farooq Abdullah, Omar's father and the patron of the NC, has echoed this call, urging Geelani to "adopt a path which could save Kashmiri people from further destruction".

Geelani's participation in the electoral process lasted only until 1989 when militancy emerged. He resigned his seat in the legislature in protest at the time and has boycotted all elections held since.

The JI leader was diagnosed with renal cancer in 2007, but from his home in Srinagar, he remains a major force in Kashmiri politics. 

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