No wonder, therefore, that the Jamat-ud-Dawah has made striking adjustments of its own vis-à-vis Kashmir by stopping differentiating between moderate and hawkish separatists. Letting Shah address the solidarity rally alongside Geelani is a strong signal of recognition to moderates led by Mirwaiz. Shah has been instrumental in the recent unity efforts which saw the return of four significant Kashmiri separatists to the Hurriyat fold, including Shah himself.

Warming up of the radicals in Pakistan to Hurriyat doves is being seen as a result of the growing distance between Hurriyat and New Delhi which over time seems to have Hurriyat hawk Geelani, dove Shabir address Lashkar front restored their credibility in the eyes of even the militant groups operating in the Valley. Recently, United Jihad Council, led by Syed Salahuddin and even the Lashker hailed Hurriyat unity efforts.

This is a far cry from the time when Salahuddin and Lashkar refused to meet Mirwaiz on his visit to Pakistan and PoK last year. Even Pak Jamaat-i-Islami chief Qazi Hussain Ahmad had given Mirwaiz a slip when he visited the party’s Lahore headquarters, leaving only his daughter, herself a Mutahida Majlis Amal MP to receive him.

Now senior Dawah leader Hafiz Abdur Rehman Makki, while welcoming Hurriyat unity has also called for inclusion of Geelani and JKLF supremo Yaseen Malik. “We are happy over the new separatist political alliances being forged in Kashmir. But we think that the inclusion of Geelani and Malik in the alliance is a must,” Makki said at a separate Dawah seminar at a community centre in Aabpara in Islamabad which, among others, was also attended by retired Pak generals like the former ISI chief Hamid Gul.

... contd.