Hurriyat leader joins PDP
Jammu, September 1
Hurriyat member and separatist leader Syed Salim Geelani on Sunday joined Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the presence of party chief Mehbooba Mufti.
Geelani, while joining the PDP, stated that gun was not a solution for any problem. “Kashmir issue can be resolved only through a political dialogue and that is why I have joined the PDP,” he added.
He told the media: “The PDP is a party that talks about democratic rights, human rights and political rights of people and a political solution to the Kashmir problem. So I felt it is the right party to join.”
Geelani was a general council member of Hurriyat Conference, led by Mirwaiz Umar Farooq. He was a close aide of separatist leader Shabir Ahmad Shah.
“It’s appealing that a former separatist leader wants a peaceful resolution of the Kashmir issue. Geelani was offered to contest the Assembly poll on PDP ticket, but he expressed inability for the same,” Mehbooba Mufti said.
Former Congress leader Altaf Ahmad Malik was among other leaders who joined the PDP.
Meanwhile, National Conference leader Jagjiwan Lal and former PDP chief spokesperson Suhail Bukhari joined the Congress. J&K Congress chief Tariq Hameed Karra welcomed both leaders into the party’s fold.
