UPDATE - Top Kashmiri leader Syed Ali Geelani dies at 91

UPDATES WITH MORE DETAILS

By Nusrat Sidiq and Riyaz ul Khaliq

SRINAGAR, Jammu and Kashmir/ANKARA (AA) - Top Kashmiri pro-freedom leader Syed Ali Geelani died late on Wednesday at the age of 91, his spokesman confirmed on Twitter.

He passed away at around 10 p.m. local time (1630GMT), a brief statement said.

Geelani was suffering from many ailments and was detained in his house for the greater part of his life since 2010, when Indian-administered Kashmir witnessed a massive anti-India uprising.

The veteran Kashmiri leader started his political career as a member of Jamaat-e-Islami, and later joined the All Parties Hurriyat Conference -- an amalgam of over two dozen pro-freedom groups in Indian-administered Kashmir that seek self-determination.

Later, along with fellow Kashmiri pro-freedom leader Muhammad Ashraf Sehrai, who died earlier this year in custody, Geelani launched the Tehreek-e-Hurriyat group.

In recognition of his lifelong struggle for Kashmiris, Pakistan on its 74th Independence Day awarded him the Nishan-e-Pakistan -- the country's highest civilian honor.

Shortly after Geelani's death, Kashmir Police Chief Vijay Kumar told reporters in Srinagar that restrictions have been imposed in the region. "Only his family and relatives will be allowed to participate in his funeral prayers," he said.

Heavy contingents of police and paramilitary personnel were deployed in and around the residence of Geelani in uptown Hyderpora area.

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- Pakistan declares state of mourning

Expressing sadness over Geelani's passing, Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan said he had struggled all his life for his people and their right to self-determination.

"He (Geelani) suffered incarceration and torture by the occupying Indian state but remained resolute," said Khan, adding that the Pakistani flag would fly at half-mast and "we will observe a day of official mourning."

"We in Pakistan salute his courageous struggle and remember his words: 'Hum Pakistani hain aur Pakistan Humara hai' (We are Pakistan and Pakistan belongs to us)," the Pakistani premier wrote on Twitter.

Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi called Geelani a "torch bearer of the Kashmir freedom movement."

"(Geelani) fought for the rights of Kashmiris till the very end, under house arrest of Indian occupation. May he rest in peace and may his dream of freedom come true," he tweeted.

Sirajul Haq, the chief of Pakistan's Jamaat-e-Islami party, urged people to offer funeral prayers in absentia for Geelani on Thursday. "Geelani was hope for all those seeking freedom across the world," he said.

Gen. Qamar Bajwa, Pakistan's army chief, also expressed grief on the "sad demise."

Moeed Yusuf, Pakistan's national security adviser, said India should not impose restrictions and allow Geelani's family to complete his last rites as per their wishes,

PROFILE

- Early life and introduction to Jamaat-e-Islami

Geelani was born on Sept. 29, 1929, in a village on the banks of Wular lake in the Sopore area of Kashmir's Baramulla district. After early education in his home town, he traveled to Lahore -- then a hub of literary activities -- for higher studies.

He returned to Srinagar after finishing his degree in Islamic theology in the 1940s. Here, he met Maulana Sayeed Masoodi, then secretary-general of pro-India National Conference party, who offered him a job as a news reporter at the Khidmat daily, an Urdu-language newspaper.

He also studied Islamic jurisprudence, besides Urdu and Persian.

In 1949, while teaching at a public school, he encountered Maulana Saad-uddin, the first chief of Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI) Jammu and Kashmir.

The JeI had laid its foundation independent of Jamaat-e-Islami Hind (India) in Jammu and Kashmir in 1946.

Geelani worked in Srinagar for several years, and hence came to know the JeI closely through its literature and sessions. In 1952, he was sworn-in as a basic member of the socio-religious party.

He resigned from his government job in 1959 to devote himself full time to the party's activities and soon rose to become the district chief of Kupwara and Baramulla.

- First arrest

Geelani, who spent more than a dozen years in jail, was first arrested in 1962 on the charges of "raising the Kashmir issue," and remained incarcerated for about 13 months.

He became the party's secretary-general in 1964, given his commitment and devotion to the "Islamic cause."

An avid reader as well as author, he was highly influenced by the Muslim Brotherhood -- considered a sister organization to Jamaat-e-Islami -- of Egypt and its leaders, including Hassan al-Banna and Sayyid Qutb.

Geelani was again arrested in 1965, spending 22 months in jail.

- Elections

The JeI was also involved in the disputed region's electoral politics after the late 1960s. But post 1987, pro-freedom groups have largely boycotted them.

In 1969, it participated in local government polls followed by the 1972 elections of the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly.

Geelani won a seat in the provincial assembly from his home constituency in Sopore. He walked out on the first day of the session for not being allowed to speak in Urdu, the state's official language.

His stature rose among lawmakers for his simplicity and honesty. He won the 1977 elections, as well, but lost in 1983, after which he was made the party's parliamentary affairs secretary.

He also won his seat in the 1987 polls, despite allegations of rigging and a recount ordered against his initial victory.

- 1987: A turning point

Ahead of the 1987 provincial elections, all Muslim parties came under a single platform -- the Muslim United Front -- against the pro-India parties, including the National Conference.

Only four candidates of the platform, including Geelani, however, managed to secure seats due to alleged rigging.

Geelani, along with three other winners, was jailed.

This was a watershed moment that marked the beginning of an armed resistance as hordes of Kashmiri youth travelled to Azad Kashmir, or Pakistan-administered Kashmir, for arms training against "Indian rule."

The National Conference-Congress political alliance formed a government, which was dissolved in the early 1990s as the armed rebellion broke out. Lawyers and activists were jailed, and political activity banned.

Geelani and his comrades resigned in protest.

- Foundation of APHC

In 1992, the foundation of the All Parties Hurriyat (Freedom) Conference (APHC) was laid. It was a platform of at least 30 pro-freedom parties to pursue Kashmir's fight for self-determination. The JeI was represented by Geelani.

- Division, launch of Tehreek-e-Hurriyat

After 1996 elections, the 2002 polls saw the defeat of the National Conference and the rise of a new front, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in alliance with the Congress.

Geelani accused some APHC member-parties of hurting the Kashmir cause by covertly helping some pro-India candidates in the 2002 elections, and the platform was divided. Geelani's faction was now identified as APHC-G.

"His 'unambiguous' stature rose to such heights that his single call could shut the entire Kashmir valley and people could hit the roads any time," wrote Shafi Shariati in Syed Ali Geelani – A Movement, A History.

In August 2004, Geelani, along with his life-time associate Sehrai, launched the Tehreek-e-Hurriyat (Movement of Freedom). Initially, it drew its cadre from the JeI but later attracted people from across the ideological divide.

The party's Constitution aims to achieve three things: "Islam as way of life, freedom from India and unity in Muslim ranks."

Geelani authored at least 30 books including his autobiography Wular Kinaray, or Around the banks of Wular lake, besides his commentary in Urdu on the Persian poetry of Pakistan ideological founder, Muhammad Iqbal.

His thoughts mostly draw inspiration from JeI founder Syed Abu Ala Maududi and Iqbal.

- 4-point formula

In 2006, when former Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf offered India his Four-Point Formula (free cross-LoC movement, self-governance, phased withdrawal of troops, joint mechanism toward final resolution) to solve the Kashmir issue, Geelani opposed it.

UN resolutions on Kashmir call for a referendum in the region across the dividing Line of Control to decide its political future. But, Musharraf had offered India joint control over the disputed region.

- Burhan Wani killing, annexation, legacy

Geelani emerged as a prominent face when Kashmiris held mass civil uprisings post-2008. It was first time when both factions of the APHC, civil society, and business organizations led a movement when large tracts were transferred to a Hindu shrine board.

Next year, he launched a "demilitarization movement" and in 2010, when three civilians were killed in a "fake encounter" along the LoC in the Machil area of Kupwara district, a mass uprising was triggered. Geelani was at the forefront.

The turn in the situation came in 2016 after the killing of popular militant commander Burhan Wani at the hands of Indian security forces.

Geelani, along with Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Muhammad Yasin Malik, issued week-long calendars asking people to hold protests.

On Aug. 5, 2019, the Indian government revoked Article 370 and other related provisions from its Constitution, scrapping the country's only Muslim-majority state with its autonomy.

Geelani had accused India of working to bring demographic changes in Kashmir -- an allegation now also voiced by Pakistan and others.

The veteran leader has died, but his politics will live and continue to inspire generations of Kashmiris.