All Parties Hurriyat Conference

All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC), or Tehreek e Hurriyat (Urdu: تحریک حریت‎), is an alliance of 26 political, social and religious organizations formed on 9 March 1993, as a united political front to raise the cause of Kashmiri separatism in the Kashmir conflict. Mehmood Ahmed Saghar was the first convener of the APHC-PAK chapter when the alliance was established in 1993.[1] The alliance has historically been viewed positively by Pakistan as it contests the claim of the Indian government over the State of Jammu and Kashmir.[2][3][4] Mirwaiz Umar Farooq is its chairman and in 2009 Mehmood Ahmed Saghar was unanimously elected as convener of APHC in Pakistan, and Ghulam Muhammad Safi was elected as its convener in Pakistan in January 2010.[5]

"Hurriyat" redirects here. For the settlement in Surxondaryo Region, Uzbekistan, see Hurriyat, Uzbekistan.

Tehreek e Hurriyat

تحریک حریت
LeaderMirwaiz Umar Farooq
First ConvenerMehmood Ahmed Saghar
FounderMirwaiz Umar Farooq
Founded9 March 1993
IdeologyKashmiri separatism
ColorsGreen
Website
www.huriyatconference.com

History

All Parties Hurriyat Conference was founded on 7 August 2004. On its first foundation day, more than 100,000 people gathered at Hyderpora, Srinagar, showing solidarity and commitment to its objectives and goals. In August 2006, instead of a public convention, Tehreek-e-Hurriyat's Central Council decided to organize a convention of members, candidates for membership and basic members.

The basic objective before the founders of Tehreek-e-Hurriyat is to earn Allah's pleasure through unambiguous service to the basic principles of Islam (Faith), Azadi (Freedom), and Itihad-e-milat (Fraternity).[6]

Ideology and role

According to the Hurriyat Conference, Jammu and Kashmir is a disputed territory and India's control of it is not justified. It supports the Pakistani claim that Kashmir is the "unfinished agenda of Partition" and needs to be solved "as per the aspirations of the people of Jammu and Kashmir."[7]

The APHC perceives itself to be the sole representative of the Kashmiri people.[7]

The organisation's primary role has been to project a real image of counter-insurgency operations in Jammu and Kashmir and to mobilise public opinion against Indian security forces. The alliance has consistently followed up local allegations of security force excesses, and in several documented cases, real facts about human violation by Indian security forces. For instance, the Haigam firing incident of 16 February 2001, was an assault on a peaceful gathering whereas, but later claimed in news reports and official clarifications, the army contingent fired upon the mob only when they were blocked and prevented from moving.[7]

The APHC has also an observer's status in the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC). OIC has invited Mirwaiz Umar Farooq for its June 2005 Foreign Ministers Conference in Yemen.[7][8]

Split

There are currently two factions of the Hurriyat Conference led by Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Syed Ali Shah Geelani. The Mirwaiz-led group, also referred to as the "moderate faction" along with non-Hurriyat leaders like Yasin Malik undertook, between 2–16 June 2005, the first formal visit of Kashmiri separatists to Pakistani Kashmir and subsequently, though unsanctioned by Indian authorities, to Pakistan.[7]

Internal fissures within the Hurriyat Conference culminated in a formal split on 7 September 2003,[9] with at least 12 of its 26 constituents "removing" the then Chairman Maulana Mohammad Abbas Ansari "replacing" him with Masarat Alam as its interim chief. The dissenters reportedly met at the residence of hardliner and pro-Pakistan Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI) leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani and decided to depose Ansari and "suspend" the seven-member executive committee, the highest decision-making forum of the APHC. A five-member committee was formed to review the Hurriyat Constitution and suggest amendments to reverse what the dissenters perceived as "autocratic" decisions taken by the executive committee.[7]

Since then, Geelani has formed his own faction of the Hurriyat called the Tehreek-e-Hurriyat Jammu and Kashmir. On 12 October 2004, he was elected unanimously as its chairman for a period of three years. A 25-member strong Majlis-e-Shoora (advisory council) to assist and advise the chairman was also announced on the same day. A statement released by the faction said 21 members were elected to the shoora and the chairman was authorised to nominate four members. It also said all 14 districts of the State were duly represented in the shoora, the highest decision-making body of the organisation. The Geelani reportedly has 16 constituents.[7]

The Hurriyat Conference again split in 2014. The moderate Hurriyat Conference led by Mirwaiz Umar Farooq faced the split after four senior leaders raised a banner of revolt against the chairman and other members of the conglomerate.[10] Democratic Freedom Party president Shabir Ahmad Shah, National Front chairman Nayeem Ahmad Khan, Mahaz-e-Azadi chief Mohammad Azam Inqlabi and Islamic Political Party Mohommad Yousuf Naqash were up in arms against Mirwaiz after he dashed off a letter to the convener in Pakistan administered Kashmir, Mohommad Yousuf Naseem, asking him not to entertain the leaders who have left the conglomerate on their own. The leader Shabir Shah and his lieutenant Nayeem Khan along with Shia leader Agha Hassan joined Hurriyat Conference (G) led by Syed Ali Geelani.[10]

Views on right to self-determination

All JKLF factions support the right to self-determination as per UN Security Council Resolution 47. Hurriyat, led by Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Shabir Shah, Nayeem Khan & Azam Inquilabi, demand the right to self-determination as per UN Security Council Resolution 47. Members of the Executive Council of the original APHC were:

Criticism and controversies

Family members living abroad

Hurriyat leaders have been criticised for inciting young people to violent agitation while their family members live relatively well-off lives in other parts of India and abroad.[11] These include Syed Ali Shah Geelani and Asiya Andrabi. Syed Ali Shah Geelani's eldest son Nayeem Geelani and his wife are medical practitioners in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. Geelani's second son, Zahoor Geelani, along with his family lives in New Delhi. Izhaar Geelani, grandson of Geelani, is a crew member of a private airliner in India, while his daughter Farhat Geelani is a teacher in Jeddah; her husband is an engineer there.[11] Asiya Andrabi's eldest son Muhammad bin Qasim, lives with her sister in Malaysia.[12] Most of Asiya's relatives have moved to Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, England, and Malaysia.[13] One nephew, Zulqarnain, is a captain in the Pakistan Army and her second nephew, Irtiyaz-un-Nabi, is an aeronautical engineer and lecturer at the International Islamic University, Islamabad.[13] Asiya Andrabi was criticized by Dr. Darakshan Andrabi the president of her party, the Socialistic Democratic Party of Jammu and Kashmir.[14]

Relations with Pakistani ISI

Sheikh Mustafa Kamal, a senior leader of the Jammu & Kashmir National Conference and son of Sheikh Abdullah criticised Hurriyat leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani for working on "dictations" given by Pakistan. He accused Geelani of being "a double agent" on "the payroll of Pakistan's ISI".[15][16][17]

Kamal said "Geelani has tried to 'ignite and incite' people by 'hollow slogans and destructive emotionalism', whenever even a Pakistani clerk comes to India and summons this ex-lawmaker(Geelani), he rushes to Delhi to take dictation about how to ensure that uncertainty prevails in the state."[15][16][17][18][19]

Pakistan also openly supported Geelani and Hurriyat, and representatives have had several meetings with Hurriyat leaders. A three-member delegation from the Pakistan High Commission led by Abdul Basit met Geelani at his Malviya Nagar residence in March 2015. Pakistan High Commissioner Abdul Basit assured Geelani of complete support conveying that the country's stand on Kashmir remains unchanged despite the regime change in New Delhi.[20][21][22] Basit also invited Geelani for a Pakistan Day function on 23 March. The Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi, ritually invites pro-separatist leadership of Jammu and Kashmir for the function every year.[19][21][22][23]

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the American government domestic intelligence and security agency, in their first ever open acknowledgement in 2011 in US Court said that ISI, Pakistan's spy agency, sponsors terrorism in Kashmir and it oversees terrorist separatist groups in Kashmir.[24][25][25][26][27][28]

Geelani and his Hurriyat has been accused by the Indian media of staging fake protests by paying money to local unemployed youth.[29] According to stone pelters who were arrested, each stone pelter is paid Rs 400($6–7) every Friday. Police said the money is being raised locally by Hurriyat hardliner Syed Ali Shah Geelani's followers. Most of the money comes from fruit markets and saw mills, Pakistan-based LeT terrorists also participate in stone peltings,[29] the police said.[29][30][31]

Elections boycott

Geelani and Hurriyat appealed to the people of Kashmir to boycott the 2014 Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly elections completely, arguing that: "India has been holding elections in the Valley using the power of gun and so such an exercise is not legitimate."[32] But despite repeated boycott appeals, the 2014 assembly election recorded record voter turnout of more than 65% which was the highest in 25 years of history and higher than normal voting percentages in other states of India.[33][34][35]

After record voting percentage in Kashmir, Hurriyat and its leaders have been heavily criticised by mainstream media for misleading the people of Kashmir and for not representing their true sentiments.[36][37][38][39]

India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi said of the high election voter turnout: "Separatist militants are frustrated because they are feeling that despite the use of guns and bombs and killing people, democracy is still alive in this state. I want to congratulate those voters of J&K who have voted in large numbers and made democracy victorious irrespective of the outcome."[40]

Member of the European Parliament Kosma Zlotowski welcomed the smooth conduct of the State Legislative Elections in the Jammu and Kashmir.[41] Zlotowski's office in its message said that: "The high voter turnout figure proves that democracy is firmly rooted in India. The EU would like to congratulate India and its democratic system for conduct of fair elections, unmarred by violence, in the state of Jammu and Kashmir [...] The European Parliament also takes cognizance of the fact that a large number of Kashmiri voters turned out despite calls for the boycott of elections by certain separatist forces."[41][42][43]

Current members

Current members All Parties Hurriyat Conference include:

NumberName of the PartyLeader
1Aawami Action CommitteeMirwaiz Umar Farooq
2People's LeagueSheikh Yaqoob
3Anjamani Auqafi Jama MasjidMohammad Umar Farooq
4Anjaman-e-Tablig-ul IslamSyed Qasim Shah Bukhari
5Ummat IslamiQazi Ghulam Mohammad Islamabad Anantnag
6Peoples Political Party Hilal Ahmed War And forazad jammu and kashmir n Pakistan chapterMian Muzaffar Shah
7Anjuman e shari shiyanAga Syed Hassan al-moosvi Al-safvi
8Jammu Kashmir National FrontNayeem Ahmed Khan
9All Jammu & Kashmir Employees' ConfederationIshtiaq Qadri
10Jamiate Ulama-E-IslamAbdul Gani Azhari
11Jamiat-e-HamdaniaMirwaiz Moulana Muhammad Yaseen Hamdani
12Jammu and Kashmir People's ConferenceAbdul Ghani Lone till 2002 assassination
13Jammu Kashmir Liberation FrontMuhammad Yasin Malik
14Jammu and Kashmir Human Rights CommitteeNoor-Ul-Hassan
15Jammu and Kashmir People's Basic Rights (Protection) CommitteeMufti Bahauddin Farouqi
16Liberation CouncilAzhar Bhat
17Kashmir Bazme TawheedTajamul Bhat
18Kashmir Bar AssociationZaroon bhat
19Muslim Khawateen MarkazZaid Bhat
20Muslim ConferenceKhokhar e aazam
21Tehreek-e-Huriati KashmiriSaqib Bhat
22Jammu & Kashmir Peoples ConferenceBilal Ghani Lone
23Peoples Political PartyEng Hilal Ahmad War
24Imam Ahmad Raza Islamic MissionRafeeq Ahmad Mir
25Saut-Ul-AliyaMoulana Abdul Rashid Dawoodi
26Jammu and Kashmir People's Freedom LeagueMuhammad Farooq Rehmani
27Ittihadul MuslimeenMaulana Mohammad Abbas Ansari
28Dukhtaran-e-MillatAsiya Andrabi
29J & K Muslim LeagueMasarat Alam
30Difa-e-Pakistan CouncilSami ul Haq
31 Employees and Workers Confederation

Hurriyat Conference has three factions: Hurriyat led by Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Hurriyat led by Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, Hurriyat led by Shabir Shah, Azam Inquilabi & Nayeem Khan. Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front is not part of these factions.

See also

References
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  2. "All Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC)". Kashmirherald.com. Retrieved 10 March 2015.
  3. "All Parties Hurriyat Conference". Satp.org. Retrieved 10 March 2015.
  4. http://mea.gov.in/opinion/2002/05/23o05.htm |url= missing title (help). Retrieved 9 December 2007.
  5. "Associated Press of Pakistan ( Pakistan's Premier NEWS Agency ) – Kashmiri organisation felicitate Safi on his election". App.com.pk. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 10 March 2015.
  6. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 8 November 2016. Retrieved 13 April 2019.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
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  10. "Another split stares at moderate Hurriyat". dna. Retrieved 1 April 2015.
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  12. "For the first family of militancy, a troubled road – Times of India". Retrieved 6 June 2016.
  13. "Asiya Andrabi's 3 nephews arrested in Pakistan for "terror links"". 11 September 2013. Retrieved 6 June 2016 – via The Hindu.
  14. ""Omar has failed Kashmir", "Asiya is adopting duality"". The Indian Express. 29 August 2010. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  15. "Geelani on ISI Payroll: NC Leader". Retrieved 1 April 2015.
  16. "geelani on payroll of isi, says nc leader - daily.bhaskar.com". daily.bhaskar.com. Retrieved 1 April 2015.
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  20. "Pakistani high commissioner meets Hurriyat leader Geelani". Retrieved 1 April 2015.
  21. "Pakistan assures Syed Ali Geelani of complete support". dna. Retrieved 1 April 2015.
  22. "Pakistan mischief again: Envoy meets Syed Ali Geelani". The Asian Age. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 1 April 2015.
  23. "Pakistan envoy Abdul Basit meets separatist leader Geelani, invites him for Pakistan Day". IBNLive. Retrieved 1 April 2015.
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  31. "Only Kashmir". Retrieved 1 April 2015.
  32. "Syed Ali Shah Geelani's J&K election boycott call resonates in his hometown Sopore". IBNLive. Retrieved 1 April 2015.
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  34. "Jammu and Kashmir registers highest voter turnout in 25 years, Jharkhand breaks records". Deccan Chronicle. Retrieved 1 April 2015.
  35. "J&K polls: 76 per cent voter turnout recorded in the final phase". IBNLive. Retrieved 1 April 2015.
  36. "High Voter Turnout in Jammu & Kashmir Assembly Elections : A Debilitating Blow to Separatists and Resilient Boost for Indian Democracy". EP TODAY. Retrieved 1 April 2015.
  37. "Welcome To India Africa Connect – Panorama – Braving bullets, Kashmiris embrace ballot for development". Retrieved 1 April 2015.
  38. "J&K polls: Valley opts for ballot over bullet with 71 per cent voting in first phase". The Indian Express. 25 November 2014. Retrieved 1 April 2015.
  39. "Ballot over bullet: Brisk voting in J&K and Jharkhand showcases faith in democracy". Times of India Blogs. Retrieved 1 April 2015.
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  42. ANI (11 December 2014). "European Parliament welcomes elections in Jammu and Kashmir". Retrieved 1 April 2015.
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