Jamaat-e-Islami leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani told Pakistan's Friday Times that the two militant outfits 'have never acted in a manner that is against humanity or morality'.
Geelani was to visit the residence of four youths on Thursday to express sympathy and solidarity with them.
Chairman of the breakaway Hurriyat Conference Syed Ali Shah Geelani was again put under house arrest on Thursday to prevent him from taking part in the Friday congregation at the holy Hazratbal shrine.Geelani had given a 'Hazratbal chalo' call to offer special prayers for the 'victory' in the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board forest land issue. A spokesman of the HC, Aiyaz Akbar, told UNI that a large number of police personnel were deployed outside his residence.
Hardline Hurriyat Conference Chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani has stoked a controversy by paying tributes to 2 militants who were killed in an encounter in Tral area of Kashmir, in which an army commander and a policeman died.
Chairman of Hardline faction of Hurriyat Conference Syed Ali Shah Geelani and Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front chairman Mohammad Yaseen Malik were detained on Sunday when they tried to march to Handwara in north Kashmir, where situation was rife after army shot dead a suspected militant.
"I got the invitation from the Pakistan High Commission on Tuesday," Geelani said.
Chairman of the hard-line faction of Hurriyat Conference Syed Ali Shah Geelani on Friday said he was not against the dialogue process on Kashmir issue but it should be aimed at finding a permanent solution.Geelani's statement came in the wake of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's appeal for dialogue with separatists and other groups for peace in the state."Kashmir is the core issue between the two countries," he said.
Geelani did not attach much significance to the resumption of the dialogue process between India and Pakistan, saying it will revolve around checking terrorism and not for settling Kashmir issue, which is the 'mother of all problems.'
The hardline Hurriyat Conference on Saturday rejected Centre's eight-point formula to de-escalate the current turmoil in Kashmir terming it as an "eye wash" even as other separatist outfits maintained a studied silence.
Jammu and Kashmir police Wednesday evening filed an FIR against hardline separatist leader, Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Masarat Alam Bhat and other separatist leaders 'for provocative activities and hoisting Pakistan flag' in summer capital Srinagar.
Police feared a clash between their supporters in Srinagar.
Authorities on Thursday booked hard-line Hurriyat chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani under the stringent Public Safety Act and placed moderate Hurriyat leader Mirwaiz Umer Farooq under house arrest to foil their planned all-party meet to chalk out the future course of action. "We have booked him (Geelani) under PSA. There are a good number of grounds (for detention) against Geelani. I have signed the PSA warrant against Geelani and as per the orders," said the DM.
Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, chairman of the All Party Hurriyat Conference, has denied news reports that appeared in a leading national paper saying that he did not want travel documents to be issued to rival APHC group chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani when an AHPC delegation visited Pakistan in 2005.
Chairman of the hard line faction of the Hurriyat Conference Syed Ali Shah Geelani, on Tuesday, called for a Kashmir bandh on Wednesday to protest the killing of three boys by the army.
Geelani also criticised porous borders, self-governance and other formulas being put forth by the Pakistan President, General Parvez Musharraf, to meet India midway in resolving the Kashmir dispute.
The Jammu and Kashmir high court has quashed the detention of the ailing chairman of Hurriyat Conference Syed Ali Shah Geelani under the Public Safety Act and has ordered his release.
Separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani was detained by the police at the Srinagar airport and put under house arrest soon after his arrival from New Delhi. In the national capital, the chairman of the hard-line faction of the Hurriyat Conference was questioned by the Delhi police in connection with a hawala case. "He was detained at the airport and put under house arrest soon after his arrival from Delhi," said the party spokesperson.
Geelani had called for a march on Friday to Tral town in South Kashmir where two youths were killed in an anti-militancy operation on Monday.
Most of the shops, business establishments, petrol pumps and offices were shut in and around the Lal Chowk city centre and in many areas elsewhere in the city, while government offices witnessed thin attendance, officials said.
In a bid to break the current impasse, teams of the all-party delegation to Kashmir on Monday separately met Hurriyat leaders and gave them a patient hearing but the separatists insisted on withdrawal of Army and asked the Centre to take bold decisions instead of being in a "denial mode".
Life across Kashmir valley was badly affected on Friday by a protest shutdown called by hard-line separatist leader and All Parties Hurriyat Conference chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani.The strike had been called to protest against the alleged human rights violations in Kashmir.Although authorities didn't impose any restrictions in the old city, security across Srinagar has been beefed up to maintain law and order.
Markets, banks, semi-government institutions were closed and transport remained off the roads in Srinagar and other major towns in the state in response to the call given by hardline faction of Hurriyat Conference to protest against booking of its chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani under Public Safety Act (PSA) and continued detention of other separatist leaders.
Schools, shops, business establishments, private offices and banks remained closed in most pasts of the Valley due to the strike, officials said.
Hard-line Hurriyat Conference chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani has asked Kashmiris to desist from allowing people from outside Jammu and Kashmir to stay with them as tenants.
Hardline Hurriyat Conference leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani was on Thursday placed under house arrest, a day ahead of his scheduled visit to Tral town in south Kashmir Pulwama district.
A mob set a school bus on fire in Khanyar area of Srinagar on Saturday, official sources said. A group of people stopped a bus belonging to a private school near Rangerstop in Khanyar area on Saturday morning and asked the driver and students to get off. They set the bus on fire.
SAS Geelani said he would support a dialogue process aimed at resolving Kashmir issue.
The residence of Geelani has been converted into an unofficial jail. No one is allowed to enter or leave the premises.
In a surprise snub to Pakistan, hardline Hurriyat leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani decided to "boycott" the Eid Milan being hosted by Pakistan high commissioner Abdul Basit in Delhi on July 21, making it the first time that he has turned down such an invite.
Behal is also a member of the legal cell of the separatist amalgam led by Geelani and a 'close associate' of the Hurriyat hawk.
The suspension was preempted to stop him flying to New York for an event where he was likely to have spoken against India, official sources said on Tuesday.
Omar Abdullah's rule has been the worst of all, he has proved to be Nero of Kashmir, says Kashmir separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani in this exclusive interview.
Apparently trying to dabble in internal rivalry in the Hurriyat, Pakistan has invited hardline leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani as the 'Chairman' of the amalgam along with six other Kashmiri separatist leaders for a meeting in Islamabad later this month.
The 91-year-old was buried at a mosque near his residence according to his wishes, his close aides said.
Syed Ali Shah Geelani, chairman of the hardline faction of the All Party Hurriyat Conference, on Tuesday demanded the immediate withdrawal of security forces from the Kashmir Valley. Addressing a mammoth gathering of over 1,00,000 people at Srinagar's Tourists Reception Centre Grounds along with fellow leaders Mirwaiz Umer Farooq, Shabbir Shah and Yasin Malik, Geelani laid down its immediate demand: The withdrawal of security forces.
Authorities imposed restrictions in certain areas of Srinagar on Saturday to scuttle a protest march called by separatists to coincide with Martyr's Day
Several senior separatist leaders have rejected outright their participation in any such meet at the moment.
