Kashmiri separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani was denied US visa today. He wanted to visit US for medical treatment. In a statement issued here today, Hurriyat Conference termed the denial of visa as a “human rights violation”.

“Geelani’s purpose of visit to the US was not political but medical. It was a humanitarian issue which deserved sympathetic consideration,” Hurriyat spokesman Ayaz Akber told The Indian Express. “ We are deeply disappointed”. US has reportedly denied visa to Geelani for his failure to renounce violence as a means for achieving his political goal in Kashmir.

Geelani was, however, successfully operated at the Tata Memorial Cancer Hospital in Mumbai on March 26. He was admitted after his condition deteriorated following the delay in the grant of US visa. When asked why they had decided against visiting Pakistan for the treatment, despite Imran Khan offering to treat Geelani at his cancer hospital, Akber said: “ We were told that after the US, the treatment in India ranks among the best in the world.”