Congress leader Saifuddin Soz has expressed resentment over the withdrawal of security of six separatist Hurriyat leaders in Kashmir, and said that ‘Hurriyat never advocated violence’.
Expressing resentment over the withdrawal of security of five separatist leaders in Jammu and Kashmir, Congress leader Saifuddin Soz, on Sunday, said that Hurriyat never advocated violence #HurriyatSecuritySnatched https://t.co/tbMUfbMJhg
— TIMES NOW (@TimesNow) February 17, 2019
“Hurriyat never promoted violence. Mainstream and Hurriyat are on the same page,” Soz said, according to news agency ANI
Following the horrific suicide attack in Pulwama in which 44 CRPF soldiers were killed, the Union Government gave directions to J&K administration to withdraw the security cover to Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, Shabir Shah, Hashim Qureshi, Fazal Haq Qureshi, Bilal Lone and Abdul Ghani Bhat. However, the name of pro-Pakistan separatist Syed Ali Shah Geelani does not feature in the list.
All security and any vehicle provided to them will stand withdrawn by today evening, the order read, adding that no security forces or cover should be provided, under any pretext, to them or any other separatists.
Reacting to the order, Hashim Qureshi said the withdrawal of security will make him the target of ISI, Pakistan’s military intelligence wing. The separatist leader also said that he is with the idea of independent Kashmir and not with Pakistan and that the government’s move is an act of “revenge” on separatists.
Is Hurriyat an advocate of non-violence?
The APHC (All Party Hurriyat Conference) was formed in 1993 with the encouragement of controversial US diplomat Robin Raphel – it is a conglomeration of political and religious parties with secession from Bharat as their main agenda. Hurriyat supports the Pakistani claim that Kashmir is the ‘unfinished agenda of Partition’. Most Pakistani heads of State and premiers made it a habit to meet Hurriyat leaders before and after their State and official visits to Bharat.
In 2003, Hurriyat split with Mirwaiz Umar Farooq leading the ‘moderate’ faction while Syed Ali Shah Geelani became the chairman of the ‘hardline’ faction. While Geelani openly advocates the union of J&K with Pakistan and has established links with ISI and LeT’s Hafiz Saeed, the moderate Hurriyat faction speaks about ‘independence’ and a trilateral dialogue over the state.
But beneath the surface, their real positions on most issues such as the Shri Amarnath land transfer controversy are eerily similar. And the deep ties of both factions with the Pakistani state, especially ISI, is an open secret. During the trial of convicted ISI agent Ghulam Nabi Fai, a US attorney had said that Mirwaiz Umer Farooq is controlled by the ISI.
The myth of a ‘moderate’ versus ‘hardline’ Hurriyat faction is nothing but a myth peddled to keep the rest of Bharat confused –
Moderate Faction of Hurriyat……labelled as such by A.C. room Grand Strategists https://t.co/3FIV1626bs
— Divya Kumar Soti (@DivyaSoti) May 20, 2016
Incidentally, police officer Mohammed Ayub Pandith was brutally lynched outside a Srinagar mosque by a mob, while Mirwaiz Farooq was leading prayers inside that mosque. Local Kashmiris have also blamed Hurriyat leaders like Farooq and the local media for radicalizing Kashmiri youth.
Since 2017, National Investigating Agency (NIA) has conducted a crackdown on terror fundingHurriyat receivedBased on all available evidence, it is clear that Congress leader Saifuddin Soz is lying when he says that Hurriyat doesn’t advocate violence. Saifuddin Soz is a long-time member of Bharat’s parliament – have served multiple terms in Lok Sabha & Rajya Sabha. Earlier with National Conference, he switched to Congress in 2003. He has been a Union Cabinet minister during terms of 3 PMs – Gujral & Deve Gowda (as Minister of Environment and Forests under both), Manmohan Singh (Minister of Water Resources).
A 2006 US diplomatic cable leaked by Wikileaks had this to say about Soz –
“Soz, a Sonia Gandhi confidant, worked discreetly and diligently behind-the-scenes to help launch the PM’s dialogue with Kashmiri separatists such as the Mirwaiz, Yasin Malik, and Sajjad Lone. For his loyal service and his successes on Kashmir diplomacy, Sonia has elevated him to the Cabinet.”
And Saifuddin Soz is not alone in his covert support of Kashmiri separatism. Another senior Congress leader from Kashmir, ex-J&K CM Ghulam Nabi Azad had asked Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to intervene to get a Presidential pardon for terrorist Afzal Guru who was convicted for the 2001 attack on Bharat’s parliament. In a 3-part series, we had also exposed a series of lies that Azad made about Kashmir and other developments in Bharat, during just one speech in Parliament.
Meanwhile, the soft-separatism of the other 2 ‘secular, mainstream’ parties in J&K – PDP and NC – is well known.
The enemy lies deep within the institutions of our own state.
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