Shabir Shah,
Jammu and Kashmir’s known separatist, has spent 22 years in captivity for which Amnesty International awarded him the title Prisoner of Conscience. Kashmiris portrayed him ‘Nelson Mandela of Kashmir’. He returned to a hero's welcome in 1993 after a prolonged detention in different Indian jails. Shah went on to join the All-Parties Hurriyat Conference, but was expelled from the coalition for meeting then U.S. Ambassador to India, Frank Wisner. Shah was the first prominent separatist leader who came forward for talks with New Delhi in 1998. He joined back the Mirwaiz faction of APHC in 2008. Shah led the large-scale public mobilization during the summer uprising of 2008 and was jailed for nine months. Riyaz Masroor spoke to the 54-year-old Hurriyat leader at his Sanat Nagar residence where he was put under house arrest following his plans to lead protests in downtown.

 • People participated in assembly as well as parliament election while you were in jail. Does Hurriyat need to review its stand?
I won’t dispute the fact that people turned out to vote in 2008 but you have to admit that the elections were thrust on people. Even Omar Abdullah and Mahbooba Mufti were saying the situation was not conducive but Delhi went on with the agenda. Then we saw a large number of candidates were pitched in and the issues were purely administrative. People are conscious; yes they turned out to vote in assembly elections but boycotted the parliamentary elections because they knew that voting for parliament would mean voting against Azadi. Even in assembly elections the people were subjected to record security restrictions and various other hardships. We don’t need to prove that people are with us. That was witnessed by the world last year during those mammoth gatherings.
• So you don’t need to review your stand?
Of course we need to re-strategize but in a different context. We need not sit down and have a confession statement that people are not with us because that is not the fact. The fact is people are with us. Introspection is good but we need it for some other reasons.
• Like...?
Like we’ve to unite and fight together for the common cause. Let me tell you the public pressure for unity is building up. Yesterday I was in Eidgah to console the family of the boy, Arif, who was killed by Indian forces. His father came to me with folded hands and pleaded that all Hurriyat leaders should unite. Now all of us are realizing that if we don’t follow the popular aspiration of unity we will be punished by the people.
• Any forward movement on path of unity?
I think we’ve come a long way. There were times when we used to fight for which Hurriyat faction was the real one. Now Mirwaiz Sahib recognizes Geelani Sahib’s faction and Geelani Sahib recognizes Mirwaiz-led faction. Both leaders stress for the right to self-determination. There are others who are outside the Hurriyat circle; they too are speaking the same language. We just need to work out a couple of rough edges, rest is already done. There is consensus for right to self-determination but there is no consensus for a strategy that should be adopted to achieve that goal.
• Do you insist on unity because you expect New Delhi to invite Hurriyat for talks?
We’ve never shied away from talking to India or Pakistan. In fact I have had dialogue with all who matter in India. When India’s chief negotiator on Kashmir, Mr. K C Pant extended an invite I refused to respond because the language of the invitation was wrong. Then he sent another invitation wherein it was clearly written that Kashmir is a dispute and the exercise was aimed at the resolution of this dispute. I sent two of my party men to Delhi where they handed over my message to New Delhi. If there is no follow up it’s because of New Delhi’s ever changing stand over Kashmir solution.
• So you are ready for talks?
We’ve no problem but…
• But why should Delhi feel urgency for parleys with Hurriyat?
I told you, people are with us. You can see that any government activity here needs huge security restrictions. If Delhi does not feel it urgent then who will lose? I would also say that the young population of Kashmir is very volatile. They are questioning even Hurriyat. If the government of India is so confident that people are with it let them allow a plebiscite here and the world will see which way the wind blows.
• We’ve Chief Minister Omar Abdullah supporting the dialogue and Mahbooba Mufti too has more or less same stance?
They have to. Mr. Omar is rather more accountable for this. He has made promises during election campaign and those promises are yet to be kept. He must be aware of the volcanic situation in Kashmir. This volcano can erupt any time. There will be a storm. Everything will be swept away in this storm. So far, whenever this storm would erupt it would target India and Indian presence here; if Omar and Mahbooba don’t behave, the storm can go in their direction as well. I am humbly fulfilling my responsibility by predicting this storm. Mr. Omar should remember that his friendship with Rahul Gandhi is temporary because Rahul’s grandfather J L Nehru has already ditched Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah, Omar’s grandfather, by deposing him in 1953. Similarly Mahbooba Ji will have to understand how New Delhi plays with its own people in Kashmir; look at Mufti how miserably he was used and thrown away. Both these young politicians should understand that the people of Kashmir are no longer willing to bear a white flag and announce their surrender. Azadi is our destiny; I have strong conviction over this fact.
• Did any government official from J&K or New Delhi approach you during your nine month detention?
My health deteriorated and I was not being allowed to undergo proper treatment. Not a single person from government side approached me. And there is no need now. I would say no one should bother to approach us just for the heck of it.

• When Hurriyat leaders had a session in 1996 with Frank Wisner, then U.S. ambassador to India, it was said that he suggested all of you to shun extremist route and join mainstream.
Not just Frank Wisner, I have met with Hank Brown, Gerry Ackerman and many others. But none of them ever told me to fight elections. Of course Wisner told us to facilitate the end of armed option but our demand was a result oriented dialogue involving Kashmiris, India and Pakistan.
• Situation in South Asia is different as it used to be in 1989. Now we see LTTE gone and Taliban being chased away from Pakistani villages. Don’t you think APHC should reconcile to this changing world scenario?
First let me clarify. Please don’t link LTTE with Kashmiri Mujahideen. LTTE was basically a terror outfit and UJC is not essentially a militant organization. Syed Salahuddin is a public face. UJC has several times expressed willingness for a result oriented dialogue. Whoever is still in armed struggle in Kashmir does not have a global agenda. They don’t want a pan-Islamist set up. They want that Kashmiris be given their right to self-determination as acclaimed by UNO and also promised by Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Lal Nehru.
• But India is growing phenomenally and Pakistan is going from bad to worse. What are you waiting for? Will the solution fall from the sky?
I don’t have capacity to make you understand why I believe that the circumstances will force India to solve Kashmir. But I will quote an incident that I heard during my detention from a BBC documentary. When Imam Khomeini was on way back to Tehran, a lady journalist was in the plane. She broke the "news" that there was a bomb in the aircraft that could explode any time. When everyone was panicked this lady journalist asked Khomeini, who calmly looked outside the window, why he was content and undisturbed. Khomeini told her that he knew he would die if Allah had willed so, and survive if Allah had willed so. Khomeini had similar conviction about Iran revolution and it came about despite the fact that the USA never wanted it to happen. Why? Because he had people with him and the Shah of Iran counted on super power support. I may say we also have the people’s power and people’s power has always prevailed. Government of India will have to understand the impact of this power.