Hurriyat names Masarat Alam as Geelani's successor

Srinagar: Following the death of Syed Ali Shah Geelani last week, the hardline faction of the Hurriyat Conference has elected Masarat Alam Bhat as its new chairman. In a statement issued to media on Tuesday, Hurriyat said that the people of Jammu and Kashmir look up to the amalgam's leadership with great expectations.

Shabir Ahmad Shah and Ghulam Ahmad Gulzar were elected as vice-chairmen. The amalgam said the appointments were temporary till elections are held according to the Hurriyat constitution.

Bhat, who was charge-sheeted by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in October 2019, is at present lodged in the Tihar Jail for allegedly being involved in the funding of terror organisations. He was arrested on the outskirts of Srinagar city after a four-month search. There was an announcement of a Rs 10 lakh award for information about him.

Bhat had become a prominent face of the 2010 agitation in the Valley for issuing protest calendars during the turmoil that was sparked off after the death of a youth due to tear gas shells during a demonstration.

The 50-year-old science graduate was widely seen as the successor to Geelani.

Geelani, who died last week, was elected as the lifetime chairman of the amalgam, but he stepped down and dissociated from it last year.