'See India As India': Former Kashmiri Separatist Leader Calls Hurriyat Irrelavant
Bilal Gani Lone called the Hurriyat Conference irrelevant and blamed Pakistan for creating chaos in Jammu and Kashmir. He urged the youth to accept India's power.
Former separatist leader Bilal Gani Lone called the Hurriyat Conference 'non functional' and 'irrelavant' in Jammu and Kashmir. He urged the youth to accept India's reality and not see the country through the perspective of political parties as the country is 'too big a power' to fight. Lone further blamed Pakistan for creating chaos in Jammu and Kashmir.
Speaking to PTI Videos, Lone emphasised that the Hurriyat Conference, a separatist conglomerate formed in 1993, has lost its relevance in the Valley.
'Hurriyat is no more relevant as on date. Hurriyat functional bhi nahi hai (Hurriyat is not even functional)," he said, adding, 'let's be honest about it… when you talk about Hurriyat as on date, it's not present anywhere in Kashmir," he said.
Lone further dismissed the idea that Pakistan would ever obtain control over Kashmir through power. He called it a 'very silly suggestion".
'Kashmiris Must Move On'
Lone said that the Kashmiris must move on and get out of the chaos. He also expressed regret over failures of the separatist movement. 'The Hurriyat Conference had got a lot of opportunities, we faltered somewhere. And we could have got something for our people, but we couldn't. That's the reality, let's be honest about it," he told PTI Videos.
Lone also addressed his move of joining politics and said that this new path will focus on development of Kashmir. 'I have no regrets being on the other side of the fence, but the only regret, which is a very big one, is that we could not do anything. Much could have been done, but we could not", and summarised his change of heart with a Hindi adage: 'dair aaye durust aaye (better late than never)."
'We have to talk about their future which includes their education, health facilities, and prospects of setting up business," he added.
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First Published:
July 19, 2025, 18:36 IST
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