Former Hurriyat Chairman Prof Bhat passes away

Srinagar, Sep 17: Former Hurriyat Conference chairman Abdul Gani Bhat, 90, passed away after a brief illness this evening at his residence in Kashmir’s Sopore, his family said.

Hurriyat chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq confirmed the news, describing Bhat as an affectionate elder and a visionary leader.

“Just heard the very sad news that I lost the affectionate elder, a dear friend and colleague, Prof. Abdul Ghani Bhat Sahib, who passed away sometime ago. Kashmir has been bereft of a sincere and visionary leader…,” Mirwaiz wrote on X.

Born in Botengo, a village about 10 kilometres from Sopore, Bhat began his career as an academician before entering politics. He studied Persian, economics, and political science at Sri Pratap College, Srinagar, and later earned a postgraduate degree in Persian and a law degree from Aligarh Muslim University. After a brief stint at the Sopore Bar, he joined academia but was dismissed from government service in 1986 on what authorities cited as “security grounds.”

Bhat’s political career took shape when he co-founded the Muslim United Front (MUF) in the mid-1980s. As MUF’s spokesman during the 1987 assembly elections—widely alleged to have been rigged—he played a central role in the campaign. Bhat was jailed in the aftermath, cementing his place in separatist politics.

In 1993, he became one of the founding members of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) and later served as its chairman. Regarded as a moderate within the separatist fold, he frequently drew criticism for positions that departed from the hardline narrative.

In December 2017, he broke ranks with Hurriyat colleagues to meet Dineshwar Sharma, the Centre’s special representative on Jammu and Kashmir. Known for his intellect and unconventional views, he often critiqued not only the Indian state but also his separatist colleagues, earning a reputation for honesty in political discourse.

Following the abrogation of Article 370 in August 2019, the Hurriyat Conference has been largely inactive.