Veteran Kashmiri separatist leader and ex. Chief of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference, Syed Ali Geelani passed away, he was 92 at the time of death. Said APHC leader Abdul Hameed Lone.
According to the statement, Geelani died at his residence at 10 pm.
The death of the Hurriyat leader was announced through the speaker of a nearby mosque and the public was told to march in great numbers towards Geelani’s house. However, the Indian forces’ armored vehicles rushed onto the streets to block the road to Geelani’s house. The roads were completely blocked with barbed wires and barricades, and the internet services were terminated right after the announcement of Sayed Ali Geelani’s demise. There will be a curfew imposed in Kashmir according to the media reports.
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A stronghold against Indian rule
The backbone of the Hurriyat movement against Indian rule, Syed Ali Shah Geelani was under house arrest for almost 11 years and was fighting the illness for a long time.
Geelani proved to be a stone wall against Indian oppression, he had been challenging the Indian unjust rule over the disputed territory of Kashmir from the early 1960s. Geelani continued raising his voice and the separatist movement while being a member of the Kashmir assembly.
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House arrest was nothing new to Geelani, he was jailed for 10 years after 1962 and was put under house arrest periodically after that.
Geelani was a member of Jamaat-e-Islami when he was young, the party later got banned in 2019 by the Hindu nationalist party.
Geelani had resigned from the Hurriyat as its chief. He was a member of the party since its start in 1993. He was appointed as the lifetime chairman of the party. Many constituent parties were formed by Geelani.
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Geelani’s health worsened in his last house arrest which lasted for 11 years. He was physically weak generally, due to which his chest infection was not responding to the treatments causing his demise, according to the press release.
Prime Minister Imran Khan and other members of all the parties of Pakistan have expressed grief over Syed Ali Geelani’s death. The Pakistan Flag will fly at half-mast, the day will be observed as the day of mourning.