Syed Ali Shah Geelani no more

wilayattimes (Jammu and Kashmir)

Srinagar | WTNS | September 3:Syed Ali Shah Geelani, a top separatist leader in Kashmir, has died at the age of 92 after a prolonged illness at his Srinagar residence on Wednesday evening,

Geelani, who quit politics in June last year, died at his residence in the main city of Srinagar on Wednesday night.

Sources told that Geelani, 92, developed serious complications on Wednesday afternoon and breathed his last in this evening.

“Syed Ali Geelani had chest congestion and breathing problems. He passed away at 10:30 PM,” they said. Geelani was ailing for a long -time. Last year, he announced his resignation as Hurriyat Conference (G) chairman.

Syed  was born on 29 September 1929 in Zurimanz village was a Kashmiri separatist leader in Jammu and Kashmir.

He was previously a member of Jamaat-e-Islami Kashmir but later on founded Tehreek-e-Hurriyat. He has served as the Chairman of All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC), a conglomerate of pro-separatist parties in Jammu and Kashmir.

He was an MLA from Sopore constituency of Jammu and Kashmir in 1972, 1977 and in 1987. He stepped down as Hurriyat Conference(G) chief in June 2020.

He was buried in a tightly controlled pre-dawn ceremony on Thursday as authorities imposed a lockdown across Valley and Only a small number of his relatives were present, including two of his sons, reports said.

As soon as news of his death began to make the rounds in the Jammu and Kashmir, authorities blocked the internet and mobile services and deployed extra troops in the main city of Srinagar to prevent a mass funeral procession or protests.