Intelligence agencies also favour the former as they 'need some political face to communicate with'
Masarat Alam Bhat, who shot into limelight two months ago after his release from jail, is fast emerging as a successor to the aging and ailing separatist leader Syed Ali Geelani.
The latter has already crossed 86 and 'who after Geelani' is a hot discussion in local newspapers in Srinagar.
Masarat was re-arrested on Friday. Interestingly, Masarat, who may face charges of treason by allowing waiving of Pakistani flags at a recent rally in Srinagar, may find favours with intelligence agencies, who are also hard-pressed to find a political successor to Geelani.
India doesn’t want a repeat of the 1989-type anarchic situation. “At least at tripping points, a politician-leader is capable of controlling situations. That is the only utility for us. From a law and order point of view, some political face should be there to communicate with,” intelligence sources said.
Interests across borders merge. For Pakistan, they need a pliable face to control strikes and politics at will.
Geelani himself has been promoting Mohammad Ashraf Sahrai, a low-profile second-rung leader in his Tehreek-e-Hurriyat. But he lacks charisma and magnet. When Masarat Alam Bhat was released from jail a couple of months ago, there was wild talk of him replacing Geelani, though he is not even a member of the party.
Until 2008, little was known about this separatist. He is now being projected as one with charisma. Once a Pakistan supporter, Alam was disillusioned by Islamabad’s policies towards Kashmir during the Pervez Musharraf era. Police sources say he had got into Pakistan’s bad books when he rudely shot down Musharraf’s four-point formula.
A student of Kashmir’s prestigious missionary school, Tyndale Biscoe, and graduate from SP College, Alam hails from a secure middle-class background. He had joined the separatist movement in 1987 as a 16-year-old, participating in rallies of the Muslim United Front, a conglomerate that contested the 1987 elections.
“I remember when we did not have money to buy banners, he sold his new school shoes,” recalls an old friend, who is now an engineer.
A senior pro-freedom leader, who has known Alam, says his rise gives hope for the future of separatist leadership in Kashmir. “He is a new-generation separatist leader who became popular among the masses,” says the veteran, not wanting to be named.
Alam, 39, has emerged as one of the prime successors to Syed Ali Shah Geelani’s political mantle. He has been jailed for more than 10 years on charges ranging from “breaking the Hurriyat Conference”, when they were engaged in back-channel talks with the Centre in 2004, to “uniting the Hurriyat” during the 2008 uprising when the Hurriyat was fighting within. Both times the dossier accused him of “acting against national interests”.
PTI reported on Friday that violence broke out on the streets of Srinagar as Masarat was arrested on sedition charges, with protesters burning the national flag and fighting pitched battles with security forces.
Why IB wants Masarat
India doesn’t want a repeat of the 1989-type anarchic situation. “At least at tripping points, a politician-leader is capable of controlling situations. That is the only utility for us. From a law and order point of view, some political face should be there to communicate with,” intelligence sources said.
Geelani backing Sahrai
Geelani himself has been promoting Mohammad Ashraf Sahrai, a low-profile second-rung leader in his Tehreek-e-Hurriyat. But he lacks charisma and magnet. When Masarat Alam Bhat was released from jail a couple of months ago, there was wild talk of him replacing Geelani, though he is not even a member of the party.
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