Deep dive into Geelani's resignation

What made jihadist patriarch Syed Ali Shah Geelani resign? A lot has been written since Geelani accused his colleagues in the secessionist movement of treason. While some in the valley were shocked as they expected the man who ushered in a wave of blood cult jihad to continue fighting for the "cause", few others say this was in the offing. The security apparatus in the valley very strategically rendered the separatist bloc in the valley redundant. Failing to mobilise successful anti-India protests post abrogation set in faultlines within the separatist conglomerate and the Pakistan chapter of All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC).

READ | Pro-Pak Separatist Syed Ali Shah Geelani Resigns From Hurriyat Conference; Blames Party

Geelani got his first message when his chosen nominee Syed Abdullah Gilani was shunted out from the Pakistan chapter of APHC.  Following charges of corruption being levelled against former convener of APHC Ghulam Mohammed Shafi in October 2018, Geelani's nominee Syed Abdullah Gilani, son of a Baramulla cleric Maulana Abdul Wali, was appointed as the convener. He was largely seen as someone who is close to Geelani and his son Nayeem Geelani. This, however, did not go down well with the other separatist leaders. Hizbul Mujahideen chief Syed Salahuddin thereafter intervened to put an end to the internal conflict. The matter did not here with Geelani receiving a body blow in March 2020 with Hurriyat leaders deposing his chosen nominee and electing a new consultative council. Syed Abdullah Gilani was sacked and replaced by Jammu resident Mohd. Husain Khateeb. This led to an open fight between all factions with each side trading  charges of financial misappropriation and incompetence.

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A lot of this reflected in Geelani's resignation letter. Geelani has cited "indiscipline" and "unconstitutional activities" of unnamed APHC constituents as the reason for his resignation. He also cited "nepotism, participation in the state apparatus, internal rivalry and corruption to have facilitated disruption of Hurriyat's image". The growing dissent is reflected in his audio message when Geelani says leaders in the amalgamation were not empowered to take "individual or collective decisions". 

The resignation has also received a mixed response in the valley. Geelani's vested interest in promoting his son Nayeem Geelani is also being viewed as one of the reasons for resigning. Geelani's signal of appointing Nayeem as his successor has already created a rift among other contenders like Ashraf Sehrai and Ghulam Nabi Sumjhi. This has already been sensed by Pakistan and further rift was created after Pakistan tried interfering by mooting the idea of a merger of various factions of APHC.

What is crystal clear is that APHC, an amalgamation of 23 separatist outfits, is already staring at a leadership crisis.

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