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Fazal Haq Qureshi, the seniormost separatist Kashmiri leader and an ideologue for many separatists irrespective of party affiliations, strongly believes that the expulsion of Hizbul Majahideen militant Abdul Majid Dar would lead to the constitution of a third front of separatist forces.
It would vie with the militants and the All Parties Hurriyat Conference for the people's support.
Dar had been recently expelled along with two other former commanders of the Pakistan-based militant outfit who support a negotiated settlement to the Kashmir problem.
The outfit had cited 'their (the trio's) contradictory statements and disobedience to the supreme command council of the outfit' as the reasons for their expulsion.
Qureshi was a mediator between the government and the group of Hizb commanders, led by Abdul Majid Dar, who announced a unilateral ceasefire in July 2000.
In this context, these Hizb leaders, along with Qureshi, had met Union Home Secretary Kamal Pandey in Srinagar in late July 2000.
However, the Hizb's supreme commander Syed Salah-ud-din scuttled the offer by insisting on tripartite talks involving Pakistan.
Qureshi, however, ruled out his association with any such front, which is still an idea being propagated by some Kashmiri separatist leaders.
"I am a member of the general council of the Hurriyat Conference and will have to abide by the constitution of the conglomerate," he told rediff.com.
Among others, the idea of a third front has found favor with Abdul Majid Dar and Shabir Ahmad Shah, chief of the Democratic Freedom Party (DFP).
"Abdul Majid Dar will soon launch a third front with other separatist leaders who are not part of the Hurriyat," Qureshi predicted.
"They may even take part in the coming assembly polls," he added.
The Hizb's decision to expel Majid Dar and the others 'could be a hasty decision' and 'hasty decisions sometimes boomerang', Qureshi said.
In a related development, the Hizb on Wednesday evening issued a stern warning to persons and groups 'who would be toying with the idea of participating in the forthcoming assembly elections'.
In a statement, the operations chief of the outfit Saiful Islam said, "Some people are re-grouping under different names and banners to carry forward an experiment started during the previous elections by renegade leader Kuka Parray and his supporters to lend credibility to the political process in the state."
The outfit warned of dire consequences against anyone who plans to participate in the elections.
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