A prominent Kashmir separatist leader died Wednesday evening after suffering a long illness at his residence in the town of Srinagar.
Seyed Ali Shah Gilani, one of the leading separatist leaders in India’s Jammu and Kashmir region, died Wednesday evening at the age of 92 after suffering from an illness.
Prior to stepping down from politics in June 2020, Gilani chaired the hard-line All-Party Freedom Conference, a separatist coalition. The coalition did not accept Indian rule in the Jammu and Kashmir region and called for autonomy or annexation of the region to Pakistan.
He also denied any talks with the Indian government about the future of the region.
Gilani was hospitalized at home on August 5, 2019, after the Indian government lifted a special state of emergency granted to Jammu and Kashmir under Article 370 of the Indian Constitution in a series of large-scale measures.
According to his family members, the elderly politician has been suffering from an illness for many years and has been under house arrest for the past 12 years for leading and leading protests against Indian rule.
It is worth noting that the Jammu and Kashmir region is a territorial claim between India and Pakistan, and many Kashmiri Muslims support the unification of this land, whether under Pakistani rule or as an independent state.
In contrast, Indian officials call Kashmir separatists “Pakistani-backed” terrorists; an accusation that Pakistan denies.
Clashes between Indian forces and armed separatist groups have reportedly erupted since 1989; Tens of thousands of civilians, insurgents and government forces were killed.