Geelani to PDP: Join Kashmir’s azadi movement

Jammu and Kashmir’s ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP) had on Saturday made a fervent appeal to separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani to consider its president and chief minister, Mehbooba Mufti, as his daughter and give her a chance to serve the people of the state.

While reacting to the statement 24 hours later, the octogenarian leader has asked Ms Mufti to give up playing the role of “collaborator” and join the peoples’ “movement”. He said in a statement here on Sunday, “We’ve three-prong relations with her and these are human, national and religious. But she has utterly failed to uphold any of these.”

Speaking on the “national” and “milli” (Islamic community) relations with her, he said that these demanded from her to join the people’s just struggle “but for the petty power and to please her masters she has been competing in killing and maiming her own people.”

He added that Ms Mufti had, following the killing of eight CRPF jawans, said that she was ashamed as a Muslim over the attack, but that “the daily ruthless killings of the youth fail to appeal to her conscience to feel sorry for being Indian collaborator.”

Reacting to the PDP plea, a spokesman of his faction of Hurriyat Conference said that Mr Geelani is the leader of this nation and he treats every woman as his daughter. He said that it is Ms Mufti who “doesn’t hesitate to emotionally blackmail him to call for his help whenever her position is threatened.”

PDP chief spokesman, Dr Mehboob Beg, said in a statement here that she is not a conventional politician. “In case she does not bring about a change, she will be the first to own up and make way. She understands the pain and pulse of the people as she has risen from the grass roots. It is only fair that she is given a chance, it is not that she is asking for the moon. We must give her a chance to address our grievances as we have done with leaders in the past.”