J&K govt withdraws security of all 18 Hurriyat leaders & 155 other political persons

JAMMU: The Jammu & Kashmir government downgraded and withdrew on Wednesday the security of 18 Hurriyat leaders in the state. Earlier, on February 17, the state government had withdrawn the security cover of some separatist leaders, including Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, in the aftermath of the Pulwama terror strike in which 40 CRPF personnel were killed.


According to the home department spokesman, it was felt that providing security to these separatist leaders was a waste of scarce state resources which could be better utilised elsewhere.

“Among the leaders whose security has been downgraded and withdrawn are SAS Geelani, Aga Syed Mosvi, Maulvi Abbas Ansari, Yaseen Malik, Saleem Geelani, Shahid ul Islam, Zaffar Akbar Bhat, Nayeem Ahmed Khan, Mukhtar Ahmad Waza, Farooq Ahmed Kichloo, Masroor Abbas Ansari, Aga Syed Abul Hussain, Abdul Gani Shah and Mohd Musadiq Bhat,” the official spokesperson said.

“This is, in addition, the four persons whose security was withdrawn on Sunday,” he said.

The security of 155 political persons and activists, who did not require the security provided to them based on their threat assessment and their activities, was also withdrawn. “This includes Shah Faesal, who resigned from the IAS, and Wahid Parray,” the spokesman said, adding, “Through this, over 1,000 police personnel and over 100 vehicles are freed to do regular police work.”

After the Pulwama terror attack, the government had decided to withdraw the security cover it provided separatist leaders. The Jammu and Kashmir administration then also decided that all facilities provided to these leaders would also be withdrawn to give a clear message that they could not have security provided by the police and armed forces while they worked against the interests of the nation.