Srinagar: During Home Minister of India Amit Shah’s ongoing three-day visit to Jammu and Kashmir, another leader publicly cut ties with the Hurriyat Conference.
On Monday, Bashir Ahmad Andrabi, Chairman of the Kashmir Freedom Front (KFF), issued a signed statement announcing his and his organisation’s dissociation from the Hurriyat grouping and pledged allegiance to the Constitution of India, Hindustan Times reported.
In the statement, Andrabi clarified that neither he nor the KFF has any association with the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) or any separatist outfit in the region.
“We firmly reject the ideology of the Hurriyat Conference, which has failed to address the legitimate aspirations and concerns of the people of Jammu and Kashmir,” he said.
Reiterating his commitment to India’s democratic framework, Andrabi added, “We stand by the Constitution and do not align with any group working against national interests.”
Last month, six other groups, including the J&K Tehreek-i-Istiqlal, Freedom Movement, Democratic Movement, People’s Movement, and Salvation Movement, announced their exit from the separatist fold.
At that time, Home Minister Shah had declared, “Separatism is now history in Kashmir,” stating that such moves only further India’s unity.
Last year, Syed Salim Gilani, chief of the J&K National Party and former Hurriyat leader, also left the separatist camp to join mainstream politics.
This latest development comes on the heels of the Home Ministry’s five-year ban on two prominent separatist outfits — Mirwaiz Umer Farooq-led Awami Action Committee (AAC) and J&K Ittihadul Muslimeen (JKIM), headed by Masroor Ansari — under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
