Veteran leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani quits APHC

Geelani has been under house arrest in Srinagar for several years

SRINAGAR:

A veteran Hurriyat leader quit his own faction of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference, on Monday, saying it had failed to counter New Delhi's efforts to tighten its grip on occupied Jammu and Kashmir.

Syed Ali Shah Geelani, 90, who has been under house arrest in Srinagar for several years, accused the faction he led within the umbrella Hurriyat Conference, of inaction over New Delhi's move in a two-page letter and short audio message.

"Keeping in view the present situation in Hurriyat Conference, I announce my decision to part ways with it," he said, accusing members of the grouping of conspiring against him and saying it lacked discipline and accountability.

Hurriyat leaders from his faction were not immediately available for comment. Hurriyat Conference was formed by various freedom groups in occupied Jammu and Kashmir in 1993 to provide a political platform for seceding from India in the wake of an armed struggle against New Delhi’s illegal rule.

But the group split in 2003 when some politicians headed by Geelani, who advocated Kashmir's merger with Pakistan, walked out after moderates decided to hold talks with New Delhi and formed their own faction.