Syed Alishah Geelani on Monday stepped down from the post of chairman of Tehreek-e-Hurriyat (TeH) and nominated his trusted Mohammad Ashraf Sehrai as interim chairman of the separatist outfit. Geelani was heading the TeH since its inception in 2001.
Geelani would, however, continue to be chairman of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) that is a strong separatist organisation in Kashmir.
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Serhai was presently general secretary of the TeH and has been a trusted man of Geelani for the past about 60 years when both were in the Jamaat-e-Islami. Both of them had founded the TeH.
Although Geelani said that he was stepping down because of health problems and his age factor, but sources close to him said that he was under tremendous pressure from various quarters ever since he had begun issuing calls for long-stretched shutdowns in the valley causing financial loss to small traders and those connected with tourism.
Three successive tourist seasons in the valley have failed because of unrest triggered by the separatist leadership.
Geelani was also under great pressure of Pakistan and the new generation of local terrorists who have started raising fingers at him by accusing him of selling dreams to the youth.
Zakir Musa, a local terrorist, had threatened to slit throat of separatist leaders and hang these in Srinagar’s Lal Chowk. Pakistan was reportedly pressurizing Geelani to further step up anti-India rhetoric.
The TeH, which is in the APHC that is conglomerate of separatist outfits, held a meeting today and appointed Serhai as the new chief.
Geelani has several sympathiers in the ruling PDP as a result of which his inflammatory outbursts against India and the security forces were being ignored by the authorities.
He is considered as the key man behind repeated cycles of unrest in the valley.
