Some days ago, Tehreek-e-Hurriyat patron Syed Ali Shah Geelani had announced his resigned from Hurriyat Conference. His sudden announcement was cryptic and sought to convey that he was unhappy with the way things were being done by most Hurriyat leaders.
The real reasons remained unstated but some reports in Kashmir newspapers discussed them in some detail. On Sunday, some newspapers published from Delhi also carried reports regarding his parting shot.
Geelani had indirectly hinted at the menace of drugs that was spreading in the Kashmir society. What he didn’t say clearly was that Pakistan was pumping in drugs into the Valley. For generating funds, turning many into addicts and utilising this money for radicalising the youth.
Radicalisation was a non-issue for him as he preached secessionist ideology himself for almost two decades. During this time, he remained undisputed numero uno, paddling and pushing Pakistan’s narrative. Over the last few years, Pakistani ISI had started marginalizing him and now comes the break-up.
At one time, he was a regular visitor to Pak High Commission in Delhi. Anyone wanting a visa to visit Pakistan had to just produce a letter endorsed by Geelani to get it immediately. He also recommended students for getting engineering and MBBS training in various colleges of Pakistan.
Incidentally, in terms of availability of healthcare facilities, Pakistan is one of the worst nations in the region. However, that didn’t stop it from sponsoring students from Kashmir.
It is anybody’s guess what co-curricular activities these students were involved in. These students, undergoing trainings of different types in Pakistan, drew attention recently when they were evacuated from Pakistan through Wagah-Attari route.
It now transpires that this was apparently a source of huge money being pumped into anti-India activities like stone-pelting. Using various social media platforms for spreading hatred against India. The handling of this slush money was obviously less than above board. It is said that the distribution and control of this money was no longer in Geelani’s hands or done according to his wishes.
Right now, National Investigating Agency (NIA) is checking the records of all those who are/were pursuing various courses in Pakistan. The records of their admissions, recommendations by Hurriyat leaders, their involvement in separatist activities etc are various aspects under the NIA scanner.
It may be recalled that India had ordered the scaling down of the Pak High Commission some days ago. It had ordered that the staff strength be halved. It seems likely that after NIA investigations, the High Commission may be allowed to have only skeletal staff to mark its presence.
