Warning shots
The attempt at Senior Hurriyat leader Fazal Haq Qureshi’s life is an effort to scare the moderate separatists away from peace talks.
This is not the first moderate leader targeted by Pakistan-backed Kashmiri militants. The first such incident since the rise of militancy was the assassination of current Mir Waiz’s father, Maulvi Mohammad Farooq by the Hizbul Mujahideen in May 1990. Then Abdul Gani Lone was killed by militants in May 2002 for his moderate leanings. In May 2004, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq’s uncle Maulvi Mushtaq Ahmed was assassinated by the militants when the peace talks between the separatists and the central government were in progress.
Hurriyat leader and executive committee member Fazal Haq Qureshi who was shot today in his head by the militants has always been a key advocate of peace talks. He was earlier involved in talks between the Hizbul Mujahideen and the Indian government in 2000. Although this incident has been predictably condemned by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, it is the reaction (or the absence of any reaction) from the Muftis and Syed Ali Shah Geelani that will be more interesting.
Those interested in such happenings in the past may like to revisit the rift caused within the moderate separatists after the death of Abdul Ghani Lone. Mir Waiz attended the funeral of the main suspect Ledri and described him as a martyr which led to Sajjad Lone parting his ways from the Hurriyat. And in none of Mirwaiz Maulvi Farooq’s interviews will anyone find any mention of the murderers of his father. In this Rediff interview of 1997, he talks about the Indian security forces shooting the mourners at his father’s funeral while completely missing out on the Hizbul Mujahideen’s murder of his father. There is a strong probability that the history could soon repeat itself, as the international environment and local politics is already making the position of Mirwaiz untenable.
The situation in Kashmir is complicated and still developing. Union Home Minister P. Chidmabaram can try hard to seek peace in Kashmir but the signs, going by past precedents, are rather ominous.
Update 05 Dec — Indian Express reports that Mufti Mohammad Sayeed and hardliner separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani have condemned the attack. This is a big change from all previous incidents of this nature.
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History tells us that “moderates” in a situation like Kashmir are only a stopgap. Think of Kerensky, or closer to home, Longewala. The sooner the moderates are silenced and the extremists take over, the sooner we will see the Kashmir movement’s true colours and then, hopefully, have no more doubts in finishing them and their fascist movement off.
a moderate separatist ? it’s like the hermit group proud of their humility. them cannot talk or walk out of the union of injuns pleading dented virginity.