Shabir miffed, to quit Hurriyat's Geelani bloc

Srinagar: The Syed Ali Shah-led faction of Hurriyat Conference is facing tough time as one of its key leaders Shabir Ahmed Shah has asked to be relieved as its general secretary.

Mr Shah had earlier reportedly complained that he was being ignored or, at least, not consulted before decisions on vital issues are taken by the amalgam faction.

Also, questions are being raised within the amalgam and its main constituent Tehrik-e-Hurriyat, at which Mr Geelani was given one-year extension as its chairman recently in the backdrop of the controversy over the appointment of his grandson Anees-ul-Islami as a research officer in a government-run organisation even though the authorities strongly denied the charge of ‘flouting of rules’.

Mr Shah,63, who is founder and president of the Jammu and Kashmir Democratic Freedom Party (J&KDFP) — an important constituents of Geelani-led Hurriyat Conference — has written a letter to the octogenarian leader, expressing his dissatisfaction over the functioning of the faction, and in particular “justice is not being done” to the post assigned to him nearly two years ago. He has said he and Mr Geelani have not even met for months, and his dream to make the conglomerate an institution “so that our future generations can benefit from it and the goal of freedom is achieved” is getting shattered.

Mr Shah, however, denied he has quit the conglomerate faction in protest against being “ignored” in decision-making. He told this newspaper that he has only sought a meeting of its Majlis-e-Shoora or advisory council to elect a new general secretary. “I have already spent thirty years and eight months in jail or under house arrest. I’ve been under detention with brief intervals in between for the past three years and seven months, and have not been available as general secretary to the Hurriyat Conference.”

He added that since he has been unable to deliver because of his continuous incarceration, he has asked to be relieved from the responsibility.