JKLF takes umbrage at Syed Ali Shah Geelani's remarks

Differences came to the fore among separatists as Mohammad Yasin Malik-led JKLF today took exception to Hurriyat hawk Syed Ali Shah Geelani's remarks that Jammu and Kashmir could not survive as an independent country.

"We respect every leader and the party associated with the on-going movement in Kashmir. But, we request the leaders not to issue statements which can lead to chaos and confusion among the people," several JKLF leaders said in a statement here.

The leaders, without mentioning Geelani, were reacting to his interview to a private news channel yesterday in which he had said Jammu and Kashmir would have to accede either to Pakistan or India as it could not survive as a sovereign state.

The separatist leaders said there were many countries smaller than Jammu and Kashmir in terms of resources, area and population which had survived.

This is for the first time during the current unrest in the Valley that separatist leaders have publicly voiced their differences over resolution of the Kashmir issue.