For the first time since they fell out during the 2008 summer uprising, Kashmir’s top separatist leadership on Monday jointly addressed thousands of people in the Narbal area in Budgam district where a 15-year-old boy was killed in police firing on Saturday.
Tehreek-e-Hurriyat chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Hurriyat (M) chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, and JKLF chairman Yasin Malik addressed the gathering and offered condolences to the family of slain Sohail Ahmad Sofi.
“Separatists are always united for a cause, but people are divided. You people support the freedom struggle and you cast vote for pro-India politicians too. You have to decide what you want and what is good for you,” Mr. Geelani said.
The three prominent leaders found themselves at the same place at the same time even though they went separately to Narbal.
“I was the first one to reach the place and while I was speaking there, I saw Yasin (Malik) come and then after the azaan, Geelani sahib also came. It was not intended this way, but we found ourselves on the same podium after almost seven years,” Mr. Umar Farooq told The Hindu .
Mr. Geelani and Mr. Farooq had been placed under house arrest by the State government after Sofi’s killing. They were released around 10 a.m. on Monday.
The last time the three leaders were seen together was at the “Eidgah Chalo” rally in 2008 when more than four lakh people had gathered at the Eidgah ground and in Srinagar’s streets to support them.
The separatist leaders in the Valley have often been criticised for their lack of unity and their inability to come together against serious political challenges.
