NL Correspondent
Jammu Tawi, Feb 17
The Government is issuing orders withdrawing all security and any government facilities provided to the separatist leaders- Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, Abdul Ghani Bhat, Bilal Lone, Hashim Qureshi and Shabir Shah.
All security and any vehicles provided to them will stand withdrawn by today evening. No security forces or cover should be provided, under any pretext, to them or any other separatists.
If they have any other facilities provided by Government, they are to be withdrawn forthwith.
PHQ will review if there are any other separatists who have Government security or facilities and will withdraw these immediately.
Besides Mirwaiz, the security cover of Abdul Gani Bhat, Bilal Lone, Hashim Qureshi, and Shabir Shah has been withdrawn, they said.
While there was no categorisation of security for these leaders, the state government in consultation with the Centre had provided them ad hoc security, keeping in mind the threat to their lives from some militant groups.
Militants of Hizbul Mujahideen had killed Umar's father, Mirwaiz Farooq, in 1990, and Abdul Gani Lone in 2002.
No security was provided to pro-Pakistan separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani and JKLF chief Yaseen Malik.
According to the order, all security and vehicles provided to the separatists will stand withdrawn by Sunday evening. No security forces or cover will be provided, under any pretext, to them or any other separatists. If they have any other facilities provided by the government, they are to be withdrawn forthwith.
Police will review if there are any other separatists who have security or facilities and they will be withdrawn immediately, the officials said.
Home Minister Rajnath Singh, during his visit to Srinagar on Friday, had said security given to people getting funds from Pakistan and its snooping agency ISI should be reviewed.
“Some elements in Jammu and Kashmir have links with the ISI and terrorist organisations. Their security should be reviewed,” he had said after reviewing security in the aftermath of the dastardly terror attack.
Hurriyat spokesman termed the government order a “propaganda” and said it has no bearing on the Kashmir dispute or the situation on ground and it can in no way change the reality.
“With or without these police personnel at the Hurriyat residence, everything remains the same,” the spokesman said in a statement, adding that whenever an issue was made, the Mirwaiz announced from the pulpit of the Jamia Masjid that the government can withdraw the security cover.
The spokesman said the Hurriyat leaders had never asked for security. “In fact, it was the government that insisted on keeping the personnel based on what they said was their assessment of threat perception. It was the government's decision at that time; today it's their decision to remove it. It's not an issue for us,” the statement said.
When The Tribune checked with two top Hurriyat leaders, their security cover had yet to be withdrawn, although they said they had heard the announcement.
The J&K government had announced in 2017 that they were “downsizing” security for the separatists. The decision came after a mob lynched Deputy Superintendent of Police Mohammad Ayoub Pandit on June 23 in Nowhatta near Jamia Masjid.
