The Union Home Ministry Sunday declared the Tehreek-e-Hurriyat as an “unlawful association” under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), making it the sixth organisation to be banned by the Centre since 2018. The Tehreek-e-Hurriyat is a constituent of the separatist amalgam Hurriyat Conference, and was founded by patriarch Syed Ali Shah Geelani in 2004 after he parted ways with the Jamat-e-Islami. The organisation drew most of its cadre from the Jamat as a large number of key leaders sided with Geelani during the split. The Centre had banned the Asiya Andrabi-led Dukhtaran-e-Millat in 2018 while terming it as a “terrorist organisation”. The Jamat-e-Islami, Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front, Democratic Freedom Party and Muslim league were declared unlawful subsequently. Differences between the Jamat leadership and Geelani cropped up after its chief Ghulam Mohammad Bhat distanced the organisation from militancy as Geelani, who was the Jamat’s political representative in the united Hurriyat Conference, was a fierce advocate of an “armed resistance”. While the rift between Geelani and Bhat had yet to settle down, Geelani accused one of the constituents of the Hurriyat Conference – the Peoples Conference, then led by Sajjad Lone – of fielding proxy candidates in the 2002 Assembly elections and demanded action against it. However, the Hurriyat, then led by Abbas Ansari, refused to act. A furious Geelani subsequently stopped attending meetings of the Hurriyat prompting Bhat, who had scores to settle with him, to replace Geelani as Jamat's political representative in Hurriyat and replaced him with little-known Sheikh Ali Mohammad in 2003. Bhat cited Geelani’s “poor health” as the reason for the move, which drew protests from Pakistan-based militant groups. Geelani subsequently indicated that he was floating a new political party. Fearing a split in the Hurriyat as Geelani enjoyed the backing of many leaders, the separatist amalgam gave its nod to Geelani’s proposal and thus the Tehreek-e-Hurriyat came into existence in 2004. While Geelani was appointed as the founding chairman, senior Jamat leader Mohammad Ashraf Sehrai was Geelani’s deputy. However, the Jamat leadership gradually sidelined Geelani and his backers, and eventually ended their dual membership, which they had been enjoying since the inception of the Tehreek-e-Hurriyat. A staunch supporter of Pakistan, Geelani’s party set three goals – Iman (faith), azadi (freedom) and Ittihad-e-Millat (unity) – to achieve what it termed “freedom from Indian occupation”. Following regular house arrests since 2010, Geelani stepped down as party president in 2018 citing poor health and continuous house arrests. Sehrai was then appointed his successor following which the duo had differences over several individuals within the separatist camp. After leading the Tehreek-e-Hurriyat for two years, Sehrai was arrested under the Public Safety Act (PSA) and died in Kot Bhalwal jail in Jammu due to Covid in May 2021. Sehrai’s death dealt a crushing blow to the party, which like most other separatist organisations was missing from the political landscape of the Valley when the Centre declared it unlawful.
