Author: Muzamil Jaleel
Publication: The Indian Express
Date: August 28, 2008
URL: http://www.indianexpress.com/story/354335.html
Searching for top separatist leaders, the
J&K Police late last evening raided the Srinagar homes of National Conference's
Kashmir chief Mehboob Beig, People's Democratic Party leader and Mehbooba
Mufti's political secretary Mansoor Ahmad, Kashmiri IAS officer Azad Lone
and Shujaat Bukhari, correspondent of The Hindu newspaper.
The raids drew a blank. Lone is Director,
Employment. His father, Majeed Lone, was a well-known J&K police officer
who was killed by militants.
"It's a shame and an insult to my political
ideology. They have questioned 60 years of my family's political commitment.
It was harassment and humiliation," said Beig. "I have security
and 10 CRPF men guard my residence. What message are they sending out? Right
or wrong, we acted as a bridge between Kashmir and India for the past 60 years,"
he said. "What will I tell my people, my constituency? They will ask
me where are you leading us, they don't even trust you. I have no answer".
Beig said the police officer told him he had
information that separatist leader Shabir Shah was hiding there. The police
are also looking for separatist leaders Nayeem Khan, Masrat Alam - considered
to be Syed Ali Shah Geelani's No.2 - and Bashir Bhat who are hiding after
the arrest of Hurriyat's top leadership, including Geelani, Yasin Malik and
Mirwaiz Umar Farooq.
When contacted, a senior police officer told
The Indian Express said: "We had asked our men to look for the separatist
leaders," a senior officer said. "There were no specific instructions
to check this particular house."
The raids come when separatists and the Valley's
two key mainstream political parties, NC and PDP, are moving closer on the
Amarnath land row and the call for CBMs.