Several separatist leaders, including Hurriyat chairman Abdul Gani Lone, were killed by terrorists over the past 22 years but no chief minister ever visited their families.
Shedding his ideological baggage, Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah, in a rare gesture on Saturday, visited the residence of slain separatist leader and Jamait Ahle Hadees chief Maulana Showkat Ahmad Shah to personally express his condolences to the bereaved family.
Omar is the first chief minister to visit the residence of any separatist leader who was slain by terrorists in the last 22 years of turmoil in the state. Several separatist leaders, including Hurriyat leader Abdul Gani Lone, were killed by terrorists but no chief minister ever visited their families.
Shah, a moderate separatist, was a proponent of 'azadi' for Jammu and Kashmir and an ardent critic of the Centre and the state government. The Jamait's constitution says Jammu & Kashmir is an internationally recognised dispute pending resolution.
Pro-India Omar put his ideology aside and visited the slain leader's house to meet the family. The sombre-looking chief minister flew in from Jammu and drove straightaway to Lal Bazaar amid tight security and met Shah's sons and brothers to convey his deep sense of grief and sorrow to the bereaved family.
"I am deeply pained over the killing of a noble person and a religious scholar of high calibre," Omar told Shah's family. "We condemn the cowardice and barbaric act. The killing of Maulana Showkat is a great loss to society and those responsible for it have displayed their dastardly attitude towards humanity.”
After Omar’s visit, moderate Hurriyat chairman mirwaiz Umar Farooq, whose own father and uncle, too, were killed by suspected terrorists, arrived at Shah's residence and met his family.
"The best way to pay tribute to Shah is to complete his unfinished mission," the mirwaiz said. "Those behind the ghastly killing should be exposed.”
Shah, besides being a separatist leader, was a social and educational reformer. He was in the process of setting up the Trans World Muslim University of Science and Technology and was waiting for the nod from the state legislature.
Last year the bill for setting up the university was cleared by the lower house but got stuck in the upper house of the bicameral legislature.
On Saturday, there was a complete shutdown in the Kashmir valley to protest against the killing. Shops and business establishments remained closed and there was hardly any traffic on the streets. The general strike was called by both factions of the Hurriyat Conference and the Jammu & Kashmir Liberation Front.
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