Kashmiri separatist Syed Ali Shah Geelani was endowed with Pakistan’s highest civilian honour, the ‘Nishaan-e-Pakistan’ on Tuesday. This has reportedly been done as an act of insult to India, exactly one week before the anniversary marking the repealing of Article 370.
Notably, Geelani had recently resigned from the Tehreek-e-Hurriyat, the faction he had floated in 2003, citing ‘rebellion against leadership by cadres’. “He (Geelani) has written a detailed letter to Hurriyat members in which he said, given the present situation within the Hurriyat Conference, he is completely dissociating himself from the platform,” Geelani’s spokesperson said in a press statement.
Geelani had reportedly said that he was unhappy with Hurriyat members for staying quiet over the decisions of Centre that are being implemented in the Valley, such as the abrogation of Article 370.
This comes at a time where intelligence reports have found out that Pakistan has been working closely with its agencies Inter-services Intelligence (ISI) to humiliate India close to the first anniversary of the abrogation of Section 370. This has been seen as an attempt by the country to show India in a poor light. Furthermore, Pakistan had planned to give ‘royal treatment’ to Kashmiri politicians, activists and international organisations, which are critical of India, on August 5, along with observing the event as a “black day”.