Hurriyat gen secy Masarat Alam held

Alam,who is general secretary of the hardline Hurriyat group,was released on June 8 this year after spending two years in jail under the Public Safety Act (PSA). Barely three days after his release,the killing of Class X student Tufail Ahmad Matoo triggered massive protests across Kashmir. Alam,along with Dukhtaran-e-Millat leader Syeda Aasiya Andrabi,was reported to be at the forefront of these protests. He went into hiding after police raids.

While on the run,Alam released several audio tapes asking people to intensify the struggle against India. In one such tape,Alam asked security forces to leave Kashmir.

A resident of downtown Srinagar,Alam is a militant-turned-political leader. In the early years of militancy,he was a top commander of the pro-Pakistan militant outfit Hezbollah.

A college graduate,he did his schooling in Biscoe the leading missionary school in the Valley. He was first arrested in October 1990,and released after 13 months,He was arrested again in 1993,and was in jail for four years. From 1997 to 2007,Alam was arrested and released several times. In 2003,when the Hurriyat split,Alam joined the hardliners led by Syed Ali Shah Geelani.

The separatist leader rose to prominence during the Amarnath land row in 2008. He was arrested in September 2008 and booked under PSA.