Hurriyat dove Lone’s funeral: it’s hawks who rule the roost

In the morning, Lone’s residence was flooded by crying supporters and relatives. ‘‘He was not just a political leader to us. We have lost our father. We are orphans now,’’ said Mohammad Sultan Mir. Another close associate of Lone, Ghulam Ahmad Dar, termed his death to be his ‘‘supreme sacrifice’’ for the cause of the Kashmiri people.

Calling Lone’s murder an attack on the entire Hurriyat and ‘‘the Kashmiri nation,’’ the separatist combine’s chairman, Abdul Gani Bhat, called it most brutal and inhuman act. He demanded an ‘‘impartial probe’’ to expose the guilty.

An estimated 12,000 people participated in the funeral which surprised authorities who were expecting it to be ‘‘an anti-Pak affair,’’ given the criticism yesterday, especially son Sajjad Lone’s statement that his father had been killed by Pakistan and the ISI.

Today, however, he brushed it aside. And in a sign of growing differences within and the tightrope that moderates have to walk, he told The Indian Express that he had no inkling of who killed his father. ‘‘It needs a thorough investigation,’’ he said, ‘‘and my first reaction was a mere emotional outburst,’’ he said.

In fact, it was hardliner Syed Ali Shah Geelani—also named by Sajjad yesterday—who had to face the brunt of public anger over Lone’s killing.

He had to hurriedly leave Lone’s house yesterday but today he was at the residence and participated in the funeral procession.

Bhat said that until Lone’s killers are exposed, the ‘‘wounds will remain open.’’ He said that he had called Geelani this morning. ‘‘Geelani broke down when I called him to ask him to come for the meeting,’’ Bhat said. ‘‘Everyone of us is hurt. It was not the blood of Lone but the blood of the Hurriyat Conferene and the entire nation which spilled on Tuesday evening,’’ Bhat said.

Declaring Lone as ‘‘Shaheed Hurriyat’’ , Bhat said Lone was a symbol of Kashmir’s freedom struggle and his martyrdom will strengthen their resolve to work for the freedom of Kashmir.

Earlier, in an attempt to show a united face, Bhat said the four leaders, Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, Maulvi Abbas Ansari, Ghulam Mohammad Bhat (Jamaat-e-Islami chief) would carry Lone’s coffin at the Martyrs’ Graveyard.

As the coffin was loaded in a decorated van and a convoy of hundreds of vehicles followed it, mourners chanted pro-freedom, pro-Pakistan slogans.

The Government had to face an embarrassing situation when youths, travelling in police buses, were shouting pro-Pakistan, pro-militant and anti-India slogans during the procession.

The police conducted the procession and provided four buses from Police Control Room to ferry the mourners to the funeral site.

Hundreds of policemen were deployed along Sanatnagar-Idgah road to prevent any untoward incident. The nine-km distance was covered in three hours and the burial occurred at 5.30 pm.