Moderate Hurriyat Conference (HC) headed by Mirwaiz Moulvi Umar Farooq on Sunday reacting to government decision to withdraw security cover to separatists in the Kashmir valley, said it was a non-issue for them and alleged that it was government that insisted on keeping the personnel based on their threat perception.
The Union Home minister Rajnath Singh during his visit on Friday after 44 CRPF personnel were martyred after a Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) fidayeen rammed an explosive laden vehicle into a bus at Goripora Awantipora on Srinagar-Jammu national highway on Thursday afternoon said he has directed local administration to review the security of all those who are in league with Pakistan and ISI receiving money from them.
“Security cover is a non-issue for us, it was government’s decision to keep it and their decision to remove it”, a spokesman of the moderate HC said.
He said, “the Government and its propagandist anti-Kashmir media had repeatedly been raking up the issue of police personnel provided to separatist leadership to politicise the Kashmir issue, knowing fully well it has no bearing nor can it in any way change the reality of the lingering Kashmir dispute or the situation on ground or our principled stand and outlook regarding its resolution”.
With or without these police personnel at Hurriyat residence all remains the same . Spokesman said whenever the issue has been made centre stage Mirwaiz has repeatedly said from the pulpit of the historic Jamia Masjid that the Government can withdraw it .
Spokesman said the Hurriyat leaders had never asked for it . Infact , it was the government that insisted on keeping the personnel based on what they said was their assessment of threat perception.
APHC said,”it was the Government decision at that time to to keep it , today it’s their decision to remove it. It’s not an issue for us.”
Besides Mirwaiz, security cover is provided to Bilal Gani Lone and Prof Abdul Gani Bhat of moderate HC and Democratic Freedom Party (DFP) chief Shabir Ahmad Shah presently lodged in Tihar jail and Hashim Qureshi chairman of Democratic Liberation Party (DLP).
Bilal is elder brother of separatist turned politician who was a minister in PDP-BJP coalition government from saffron party. Shah was arrested by Enforcement Directorate last year and presently lodged in Delhi’s Tihar jail. Qureshi is an accused involved in hijack of Indian Airlines plane (Ganga) from here to Lahore in 1971.
Chairman of hardline HC Syed Ali Shah Geelani has no security. However, he remained under house arrest for months and security forces and state police personnel remained deployed outside his Hyderpora residence to prevent him from moving out.
