After the death of Syed Ali Shah Geelani who was the biggest booster of Pakistan in Kashmir, it appears that the terror-sponsoring nation is trying to meddle in Kashmir after the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan.
A week after separatist leader Geelani’s death, Pakistan is propping its protege Masrat Alam Bhat, who is in jail to be made chairman of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference.
Masrat Alam Bhat is considered far more hardline than Syed Ali Shah Geelani has been lodged in Delhi’s Tihar jail since 2015 and as per a senior police officer who wants to remain anonymous, “He is a pro-Pakistan hardliner and the only visible face with some kind of public credibility in Hurriyat. It’s clear that Pakistan is running its agenda now”, reports NDTV.
The authorities expect a surge in protests in the Kashmir valley in the coming days. “Already, many calls have been made by Hurriyat in the last one week. We have made arrangements as we anticipate some action around Friday,” the police officer said.
Jammu and Kashmir Police had handled the situation immediately after the burial of Syed Ali Shah Geelani and ensured Jihadi radicalised elements could not create trouble.
“Even though their mascot is behind bars, the Afghanistan chapter will act as a booster dose for them,” another senior officer handling the Kashmir situation told NDTV, asking not to be named.
As per police records, Masrat Alam Bhat was a terrorist before he joined separatist politics in 1996 and was commander of a pro-Pakistan terror outfit and in 2003, when the Hurriyat Conference split into moderates and hardliners, not that there is any difference, Masrat Alam Bhat joined the faction led by Syed Ali Shah Geelani and was made general secretary of the Hurriyat Conference.
Pakistan army is on a high right now after it successfully managed to get critical portfolios of its proxies in the new interim Taliban cabinet, particularly Sirajuddin Haqqani, and undermining Mullah Brader because they kept him in prison for 10 years.
Click here to subscribe to The Commune on Telegram and get the best stories of the day delivered to you personally.