Shabir Shah Refuses To Be Vice-President of Hurriyat

Shabir Shah refuses to be vice-president, Separatist in the mood to shun Hurriyat: Kashmir.

Supporters of separatism and terrorism in Kashmir may be comforting themselves with the Taliban’s victory in Afghanistan.

But the old radical separatists are now in a mood to shun separatism and the Hurriyat.

This is also confirmed by the refusal of Shabir Shah, one of the old separatists of Kashmir, to become the Vice President of the Hurriyat Conference.

Not only this, another senior separatist leader is now taking more interest in feeding cakes, biscuits, and bread to Kashmiris than selling slogans of Azadi, Kashmir, and Islam.

About two dozen prominent leaders of various separatist organizations, including the Hurriyat Conference, have been lodged in Tihar Jail for the last four years.

Apart from this, the central government completely changed the constitutional system of Jammu and Kashmir by implementing the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganization Act.

With the end of the politics of the slogans of Azadi, Autonomy, Self-rule, those who manipulated Kashmiris in the name of these slogans have also been completely exposed.

Common Kashmiri people no longer pay any attention to the separatists. This has also started affecting the politics of the separatist leaders.

That is why after the death of hardliner Syed Ali Shah Geelani, there was not much uproar over his political succession.

Recently, a hardliner Masrat Alam, lodged in Tihar Jail, was made the chairman of Hurriyat Conference.

Shabir Shah, chairman of Jammu and Kashmir Democratic Freedom Part, was made the vice-president, but Shabbir refused to be the vice-president.

Shabbir is one of the oldest separatists in Kashmir. Shabbir played a key role in the formation of the Hurriyat Conference and was the first to come out of it.

A few years before he was caught in terror funding by the NIA in 2017, he had also tried to create a third faction of Hurriyat, but later joined hands with Geelani.

This is an excuse: Shabir Shah’s close associates told that he is unhappy with the decision to make Hurriyat vice-president.

He has said that I do not accept this nor do I want any responsibility in Hurriyat. No Hurriyat leader has ever spoken to me in this context.

No one has even asked the leaders of my organization. He has also asked the people of his organization to issue a statement in this regard.

Not even political rhetoric: Another Hurriyat leader who has been close to Mirwaiz Maulvi Umar Farooq, somehow escaped from jail after August 5, 2019.

Now he is leaving the image of a separatist leader and trying to create the image of a pure businessman. He also avoids talking to his close people on political issues.

The said leader has also not issued any statement for the release of the so-called detention of Mirwaiz Maulvi. Just, nowadays they are engaged in furthering their bakery and other business.

There is also the fear of not getting out of Tihar:

Kashmir affairs expert and senior journalist said that Shabir Shah would never want to be Masarat Alam’s number two, as he considers himself the most senior separatist.

So he chose his own path in 1993, only a few years after the formation of the Hurriyat. Like other separatists, he is also facing the bar of law properly for the first time.

Their property can be confiscated at any time. His wife has also received ED summons.

That is why they feel that if the name is associated with Hurriyat or if they move forward in separatist politics, then the way out of Tihar will be completely closed.

The property which has been created in the name of freedom of Kashmir will also get out of hand. The same applies to other separatist leaders as well.

In these circumstances, whenever he is getting a chance, he is looking for other options for himself.

There was once a competition to join Hurriyat:

JK Unity Foundation President Ajat Jamwal said that before August 5, 2019, not only in Kashmir but also in the Jammu division, many people felt proud to join Hurriyat Conference.

There was a competition to become the political successor of Geelani, to join the Hurriyat Executive Committee.

Shabbir Shah left Mirwaiz and joined hands with Geelani a few years ago only after not getting permanent membership in the executive limited, now he is not ready to become even the vice-president

The reality is that the shopkeepers of the separatists have stopped