Author: Special Correspondent
Publication: The Asian Age
Date: December 30, 2007
Kash miri separatist leader Syed Ali Shah
Geelani has been publicly criticised by four obscure militant outfits for
issuing a call for strike to mourn and protest the killing of Benazir Bhutto
which evoked only partial response across the Valley on Friday though.
Accusing Mr Geelani of perusing the path of
"devious politics", the outfits, namely Al-Nasrin, Save Kashmir
Movement, Farzandan-e-Millat and AlIstiqlal, said in a joint statement to
a local news agency that the separatist leader had failed to comprehend the
slain leader's "antiIslamic and anti-Muslim and pro-America leanings".
The outfits' spokesperson Yusuf al-Anwar asked,
"How could she be a friend of Muslims and Pakistan in the face of her
propensity towards the enemies of the both?" He added that by issuing
the call for observing strike, Mr Geelani had "proved it beyond any doubt
that he is totally inconsiderate and has failed to recognise the foes of Islamic
movements".
"Geelani Sahib seems to be so ignorant
about the perilous objectives Benazir was holding under her sleeves that the
grief over her killing made him so weary that he asked the people to strike
their work," the spokesperson said. He charged that Mr Geelani had yet
to come out of the "crafty politics" being pursued by the Jamaat-e-Islami,
the rightwing party he was with for several decades prior to launching his
own Tehrik-e-Hurriyat party a couple of years ago.
"It seems that he continues to indulge
in politics of duplicity as the Jamaat does. Benazir Bhutto was bent upon
to uproot the jihad being fought in Kashmir and by asking the people to observe
a strike over her killing he has committed a sin which is unpardonable even
if he repents for it before Allah," the fax statement to Kashmir News
Service said. It asked Mr Geelani that "he should not forget to call
for observing strike in mourning when (US President) Mr Bush dies as it would
be naive on his part not to go for it".
Reacting to the statement, Mr Geelani-led
Hurriyat Conference faction asserted that Islam does not allow anyone to kill
a person for political differences. "Geelani Sahib is the symbol of a
movement and philosophy and has shown steadfastness in his mission and shall
continue to be determined as before. Such childish statements can hardly stain
his image," said a Geelani aide Ayaz Akbar. He added that Mr Geelani
believed that Benazir was killed with the design of pushing Pakistan into
anarchy which no Muslim would put up with.
"Moreover, no true Muslim can kill a
person on the basis of political differences. As far the statement from these
outfits is concerned, it only mirrors a sick thinking on their part.
We're not bothered," Mr Akbar said.
