Pakistan Making Another Bid to Revive Separatist Movement in Kashmir, Sources Tell CNN-News18

Pakistan is making another attempt at reviving the separatist movement in Kashmir, giving it the local form and face of the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front and the separatist conglomerate Hurriyat Conference. The country’s Inter-Services Intelligence is desperate to start a “soft movement” after its failure to launch terror strikes well inside the union territory, sources told CNN-News18.

According to sources, the arrest of separatist and former militants in Kashmir was the first attempt of reviving separatism in Kashmir. Investigators believe that revival was being done on the behest of some “elements” based in Pakistan.

Sources said these elements wanted to restart hartal and stone pelting once again to disturb the peaceful situation in the Valley. The ISI feels that it has only been able to carry out strikes at the Line of Control and most of their infiltrators were killed, sources added.

The ISI wants to start the separatist movement before the 2024 Lok Sabha elections while another reason is that the separatists were facing acute paucity of funds since 2017, sources said. Investigators believe that separatist leaders were promised funds for revival, besides these “Pakistani elements” were tasked to organise small protests to keep separatism alive.

Sources further said the organisers took about two months to hold the event and their activity was being tracked by agencies based in the UT as well as central agencies. Jammu and Kashmir police said they had detained 10 former terrorists and separatists who had assembled at a Srinagar hotel for a meeting.

Police said the detained separatists were trying to revive the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) and the separatists conglomerate Hurriyat Conference. They have been booked under Section 121A (conspiracy to commit offences) of the Indian Penal Code and provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.

Sources in the police said the separatists had assembled for a seminar that was being organised by the Democratic Political Movement (DPM), an affiliate of the Hurriyat Conference led by late separatist Syed Ali Geelani before he parted ways with it.