New Delhi/Srinagar/Jammu: Two Hurriyat Conference constituents — the Jammu and Kashmir People’s Movement (JKPM) and the J&K Democratic Political Movement (JKDPM) — have announced severing their all ties with separatists, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said Tuesday, asserting it will strengthen India’s unity.
Another group, the Jammu-based J&K Freedom Movement headed by Mohammad Sharief Sartaj, also ended its long association with the separatist amalgam and announced disbanding of the group with immediate effect.
While the JKPM is headed by Shahid Saleem, the JKDPM is led by Shafi Reshi, an advocate.
In a statement, Saleem said he has distanced himself and his organisation from the separatist ideology, and vowed allegiance to India and the Constitution.
“I am a loyal citizen of India and both my organisation and I owe allegiance to the Constitution of India,” he said in the statement to the vernacular press in Srinagar.
Welcoming Saleem and Reshi’s decisions, Union Home Minister Shah said this step will strengthen Bharat’s unity and asserted the unifying policies of the Modi government have “tossed” separatism out of Jammu and Kashmir.
“Two organisations associated with the Hurriyat have announced the severing of all ties with separatism. I welcome this step towards strengthening Bharat’s unity and urge all such groups to come forward and shed separatism once and for all,” he wrote on X.
Shah said it was a big victory for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of building a developed, peaceful and unified Bharat.
The All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) is a separatist amalgam in Jammu and Kashmir. Most of its constituents have been banned by the government.
Saleem said in his communication that he and his organisation have no sympathy for the ideology of APHC, which “has not been able to address the legitimate aspirations and grievances of the people of Jammu and Kashmir.”
“I am a loyal citizen of India. My organisation and I are not affiliated with any organisation or association having an agenda that goes directly or indirectly against India and its interests. Both my organisation and I owe allegiance to the Constitution of India,” Saleem said.
In March 2019, when IAS officer Shah Faesal quit bureaucracy and launched his own party by the identical name and style, Saleem had taken strong exception, saying his JKPM was launched on April 4, 2000, at the Press Club in Jammu, and it became a constituent member of the APHC.
Faesal later withdrew his resignation and was reinstated to the service. He was posted as deputy secretary in the tourism department in 2022.
In his media communication on Tuesday, Saleem wrote, “I, Shahid Saleem, Chairman JKPM do hereby solemnly declare… My organisation as well as I have no connection or affiliation with either APHC(G) or APHC (A) or any of their constituents or any other entity pursuing a separatist or similar such agenda.
“My organisation and I do not have any inclination or sympathy for the ideology of APHC, which has not been able to address the legitimate aspirations and grievances of people of Jammu and Kashmir,” he said.
Saleem warned that any use of his name or that of his organisation with the APHC or its factions or constituents or any other entity pursuing a separatist or similar agenda will be liable to legal action.
Sartaj, who had previously worked as the Jammu coordinator of the Hurriyat Conference and was booked under the Public Safety Act on multiple occasions, came out with a public notice, almost identical to the one issued by Saleem.
However, he also added that his organisation “being un-operational since decade is also disbanded with immediate effect”.
HM Amit Shah on X:
“Separatism has become history in Kashmir. The unifying policies of the Modi government have tossed separatism out of J&K. Two organizations associated with the Hurriyat have announced the severing of all ties with separatism. I welcome this step towards strengthening Bharat’s unity and urge all such groups to come forward and shed separatism once and for all. It is a big victory for PM Shri @narendramodi Ji’s vision of building a developed, peaceful and unified Bharat.”
