Harsha Kakar
kakarharsha@gmail.com
It took the Government over four decades but finally the APHC (All Party Hurriyat Conference) has been buried. The APHC at its peak comprised of 26 secessionist parties and leaders in Kashmir, which split in 2003 between hardline and moderate factions. The burial of the organization was announced by Kashmir’s chief cleric and separatist leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq who announced that he is removing the designation ‘Chairman All Parties Hurriyat Conference’ from his X handle. For the past few years, the APHC existed just in name.
In a tweet, Mirwaiz Farooq mentioned ‘For some time now, I was being pressed by the authorities to make changes to my X handle as Hurriyat chairman, as all constituents of Hurriyat Conference, including the Awami Action Committee that I head have been banned under the UAPA, making Hurriyat a banned organisation, failing which they will take down my handle.’ He added that it was a ‘Hobson’s choice.’
Mirwaiz represented the moderate faction of the Hurriyat, who during days of militancy in 2004 had led a delegation to meet the then PM AB Vajpayee, believing that dialogue was the only solution as against the others who demanded plebiscite. There has been no comment by the Government though it is known that a few weeks ago some civil society members led by Sri Sri reached out to Mirwaiz Farooq.
While Mirwaiz did come under some criticism from members of the Hurriyat, the decision indicated reality on the ground. The Hurriyat Conference HQs in Srinagar has been sealed for the past three years by the NIA. Many members of the Hurriyat have renounced separatism, while others are missing. Major criticism against Mirwaiz came from JKPC (J and K People’s Conference) headed by Sajjad Lone, who remains a fringe player in the region.
The two major political parties of Kashmir, National Conference and PDP, headed by Mehbooba Mufti, supported Mirwaiz Farooq. Mehbooba Mufti told reporters, ‘You can remove Hurriyat from a platform but the alienation has to be addressed.’
PDP leader Waheed Para tweeted, ‘If Mirwaiz Kashmir has removed the APHC tag as an act of peace, it must never be weaponized against him. Choosing peace over rigidity is not weakness; it is leadership.’ Para’s tweet reflects the feeling of the masses that fighting the state is not the right approach, especially as the region undergoes an economic upswing.
The Hurriyat no longer holds sway over Kashmir. There was a time when the Pakistan High Commission invited members of the Hurriyat to their embassy as also the Pak leadership insisted that the Hurriyat represents the people of Kashmir and must form part of dialogue. New Delhi objected to both these actions. Pakistan honoured Syed Ali Geelani of the Hurriyat with their highest award, ‘Nishan-e-Pakistan,’ and his death anniversary is marked as “Youm-i-Syed-Hurriyat-i-Kashmir” (the day of the leader of Kashmir’s freedom).
Such was their power that Governments in J and K treated them as royalty, providing them with resources and facilities such as flying them to Delhi for medical treatment. This was because the Hurriyat determined levels of violence and timings of hartals. The Hurriyat pushed thousands of youths, less their family members, into the terrorist fold. They had the power to influence elections.
The Hurriyat had made violence into a cottage industry based on its ability to fund. Leaders of the organization amassed vast properties across the country with funds from abroad, while locals suffered the wrath of terrorists and security agencies. Schools in Kashmir were burnt while children of Hurriyat leaders studied away from the troubled valley and in many cases abroad. They exploited instability in Kashmir for their personal benefits.
A lot changed after Article 370 was removed in 2019 and the state split into two Union Territories. The Hurriyat’s Hawala transactions came under Government scanner and were blocked thereby changing the face of Kashmir. Most of their ill-gotten wealth was being questioned. In June 2020, Syed Ali Geelani resigned from the Hurriyat. In his resignation he mentioned, ‘Now that you feel that you will be held accountable for the misappropriation of funds, you openly revolted against the leadership,’ hinting at corruption within the organization.
Since flow of funds stopped, violence levels receded, youth joining terrorist groups reduced to single digits and support for plebiscite or joining Pakistan almost ended. The valley witnessed an upsurge in tourism, which was subsequently impacted by the Pahalgam attack and has again revived.
The Hurriyat has been subdued to the extent that it rarely issued any statement since 2019, which is indicative of its slow decline. While the APHC was not officially banned almost all organizations, including Mirwaiz Farooq’s Awami Action Committee, were. This made the APHC only relevant in name.
By removing himself as the chairman, Mirwaiz Farooq has finally buried the ghost of the organization. It is only a matter of time before the name Hurriyat is forgotten by the people of Kashmir. As a new chapter in Kashmir unfolds, it is time to bury the old and look forward to the new.
The author is Major General (Retd)
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