Maulana Mohammad Abbas Ansari
Encyclopedia
Maulana Mohammad Abbas Ansari is a prominent political leader and Shia clergy
from Indian administered Jammu and Kashmir
. He is a Kashmir
i separatist, ex-chairman of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference
, and founder of the Jammu & Kashmir Ittihadul Muslimeen (JKIM)
political party. He is considered a moderate and has called for an end to violence in that region.
from the influential Ansari family.
After his preliminary education in a school of his locality in Srinagar, he went on to graduate from the Oriental College, Srinagar. He left for further studies to Lucknow
, the centre of Islamic Theological School in India
in 1950. After spending years in Lucknow’s Sultanul Madaris
, he went for higher studies in the holy city of Najaf
, Iraq
in 1954. He mastered in Arabic literature
, Philosophy
, Hadith
and Tafseer, Islamic Jurisprudence
and Political Science
. After eight year study in Iraq he returned to Kashmir and started his religion-political obligations and became a most active member of all organizations formed for this purpose. Subsequently he launched a religio-political monthly magazine named “Safeena”.
Maulana Abbas Ansari appeared on the political scene of Kashmir in Dec, 1963 amidst the Holy Relic Movement when people clandestinely lifted the Holy Relic of Prophet Mohammad from Hazratbal Shrine of Srinagar
. The “Holy Relic Action Committee” was formed as a response to that indecent and Ansari was named coordinator after the ouster of Mirwaiz Farooq. The group was dissolved after the return of the Relic.
Later he along with other political leaders like Molvi Mohammad Farooq, Sofi Mohammad Akbar and others formed a political party named “Peoples Action Committee” in March 1964 to seek the right of self determination for the people of Kashmir. Ansari opposed the holding state political convention in 1967-68 and staged a walk out from the convention in protest against the policies of Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah. He was arrested several times during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965
war under the National Security Act.
he once again advocated confinement of right of self determination to the people of Kashmir and to silence the voice he was arrested.
After Indira Gandhi
-Sheikh Abdullah accord of February 1975 the Plebiscite Front
was wound up and Sheikh Abdullah revived his National Conference
. Maulana Ansari met Sheikh Abdullah in Kotla Lane, New Delhi
and appealed him not to let the sacrifices of Kashmir's go waste. He apprised Sheikh that Kashmiri’s have sacrificed a lot from 1947 to 1974 for their right of self determination and their sacrifices can not be bargained for Chief Ministership. Sheikh Abdullah however signed the accord with Indira Gandhi and became the Chief Minister
of the State. Maulana opposed this accord tooth and nail and described it as unacceptable to the people of the state. Consequent upon the signing of the accord, the Maulana brought all the people of identical ideology on a single political platform and declared creation of Peoples United Front. The youth turned violently against Sheikh Abdullah and there was an uproar throughout the state against this breach of trust by the Sheikh. The then Pakistan
Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto gave a call for strike on the 28 February to protest against the accord and due to the hard efforts of Peoples United Front the strike was total and telling.
The period 1975-85 witnessed the continuous struggle of Maulana Abbas against New Delhi and the regime in Kashmir. Maulana Abbas played the role of opposition leader when it was mandatory for a politician to seek blessings from Sheikh Abdullah. During this period he always stood for the right of self determination and launched the campaign against liquor trade in Kashmir. Ruling regime took strong opposition to these activities and Maulana was again detained and charged with mutiny and conspiracy against the Indian government. Trial was conducted in a closed room in central jail, Srinagar.
to fight elections of state assembly to show the world that kashmiri’s does not consider itself to be a part of India emotionally. The front candidates were declared defeated by heavy margins and National Conference-Congress Alliance formed a coalition government in the state. This was the turning point in the history of Kashmir which culminated in armed rebellion against Indian authority. The front supporters particularly the youth who were harassed and tortured during and after elections, switched over to the part of militancy which changed the situation dramatically. Maulana Abbas was arrested on April 13, 1990 under notorious "public safety act" and lodged in Srinagar's infamous Badami Bagh contonment interrogation centre. After a month of interrogation he was put in Jammu central jail from where he was exiled to Jodhpur
in western India. From Jodhpur Maulana was shifted to the Tihar Prisons, New Delhi and finally to heavily guarded Mehrolli BSF camp, some 25 km from New Delhi.
After his release in May 2000, Maulana Abbas undertook an overseas tour to present the freedom movement of Kashmir in its correct perspective and highlight the atrocities being perpetrated on Kashmiris. In United Kingdom
, Iran
, Saudi Arabia
and Pakistan
, he apprised the leadership and the public about the struggle going on the state and the repression unleashed by the Indian security forces. Maulana also gave a comprehensive presentation of the Kashmir cause at the OIC meet in Casablanca
(Morocco
) and Doha
(Qatar
) in December 1994 and November 2000 respectively. Later the government of India impounded his passport to prevent him from traveling abroad to champion the Kashmir cause, so he was not allowed to attend OIC’s 10th and 11th summit in Malaysia and Senegal
in 2003 and 2008 respectively and other conferences across the globe. Maulana Abbas was one of the senior Hurriyat leaders to meet the Pakistan president, General Pervez Musharraf and Iranian President Seyed Mohammad Khatami
and apprised them about the political situation of Kashmir and invited Iranian government to mediate to resolve Kashmir issue.
Resuming the process of interaction in the valley on his return, Maulana Ansari toured towns and villages to address public meetings and come to the aid of the victims of state terrorism.
, Syed Ali Geelani and Qazi Nisar Ahmed. After his release from jail Maulana Abbas, along with his other colleagues, started organizing different political, religious, social and humanitarian organizations and played a role in the formation of All Parties Hurriyat Conference
(APHC). APHC was founded in 1993 to unite various political parties of Jammu & Kashmir demanding the right of self-determination. Maulana Abbas represents Jammu & Kashmir Ittihadul Muslimeen
in its seven-member Executive council, the chief policy make and executive body of A.P.H.C.
The All Parties Hurriyat Conference kept up its campaign for a solution to the Kashmir issue. The leadership of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference was arrested once again in September 1999. Along with his colleagues, Maulana Abbas Ansari spent 8 months in the prison.
The APHC on July 12, 2003 elected Maulana Abbas Ansari, as its Chairman at a meeting of the Executive Committee members. Out of the seven constituents, representatives of six parties were present at the meeting. Abbas Ansari was the fourth chairman of the Hurriyat who replaced Abdul Ghani Bhat on the latter’s completion of his two-year term. Ansari is the first Shiite head the Hurriyat Conference.
Soon after taking over as Chairman, he called for an immediate ceasefire
between the security forces and the militants saying "the Kashmir issue is not a border dispute, but a humanitarian problem. It cannot be solved through gun, but only through negotiations"
On May 21, 2004 Abbas Ansari offered to resign his post in an effort to bring about the reunification of the coalition's factions and did so on July of that year. Organization's founder-chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, was asked to work towards restoring the Hurriyat's original executive council and send invitations to all the pre-split executive council members.
After first round of talks in a joint statement issued by the Indian government and APHC, it was declared that:
“India will safeguard the security of all people and stop the violation of Human rights. Rapid review would be undertaken to examine the cases of those held in detention.”
The United States welcomed the talks between New Delhi and APHC leaders. A State Department official in Washington, D.C.
, said "We welcome the progress that is being made.” Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf termed these talks as "a very good beginning".
The next round of APHC discussion with Indian government took place in the latter part of March.
-Rawalpindi
road so that the people of both parts of Kashmir could meet their kin and help survivors of the 2005 earthquake. “The people on both sides of the Line of Control
(LoC) have been craving to meet each other. When India and Pakistan can resume the New Delhi
-Lahore
bus service, there is no harm in reopening the Srinagar-Rawalpindi road”, Maulana Said in an interview.
On 7 April 2005, first passengers from either side of the Line of Control cross divided Kashmir as the first Srinagar Muzaffarabad
Bus Service was launched. Hurriyet leaders including Maulana Abbas Ansari visited Pakistan and Muzaffarabad in June 2005 crossing LOC by bus.
http://www.hinduonnet.com/fline/fl1717/17170290.htm
APHC Delegation with the Prime Minister of India, Manmohan Singh
http://www.thehinduimages.com/hindu/photoDetail.do?photoId=7678849
Clergy
Clergy is the generic term used to describe the formal religious leadership within a given religion. A clergyman, churchman or cleric is a member of the clergy, especially one who is a priest, preacher, pastor, or other religious professional....
from Indian administered Jammu and Kashmir
Jammu and Kashmir
Jammu and Kashmir is the northernmost state of India. It is situated mostly in the Himalayan mountains. Jammu and Kashmir shares a border with the states of Himachal Pradesh and Punjab to the south and internationally with the People's Republic of China to the north and east and the...
. He is a Kashmir
Kashmir
Kashmir is the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term Kashmir geographically denoted only the valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal mountain range...
i separatist, ex-chairman of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference
All Parties Hurriyat Conference
The All Parties Hurriyat Conference is a political front formed as an alliance of 26 political, social and religious organizations in Kashmir. It was formed achieving the right of self-determination according to United Nations Security Council Resolution 47...
, and founder of the Jammu & Kashmir Ittihadul Muslimeen (JKIM)
Ittihadul Muslimeen
Jammu & Kashmir Ittihadul Muslimeen, JKIM is a Muslim political party in Jammu & Kashmir founded to provide to the people of Jammu and Kashmir a viable, democratic and broad based political platform that would reflect their true will and aspirations and endeavor to...
political party. He is considered a moderate and has called for an end to violence in that region.
Early life and education
Maulana Abbas Ansari was born on August 18, 1936 in SrinagarSrinagar
Srinagar is the summer seasonal capital of Jammu and Kashmir. It is situated in Kashmir Valley and lies on the banks of the Jhelum River, a tributary of the Indus. It is one of the largest cities in India not to have a Hindu majority. The city is famous for its gardens, lakes and houseboats...
from the influential Ansari family.
After his preliminary education in a school of his locality in Srinagar, he went on to graduate from the Oriental College, Srinagar. He left for further studies to Lucknow
Lucknow
Lucknow is the capital city of Uttar Pradesh in India. Lucknow is the administrative headquarters of Lucknow District and Lucknow Division....
, the centre of Islamic Theological School in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
in 1950. After spending years in Lucknow’s Sultanul Madaris
Sultanul Madaris
Sultanul Madaris is a Shia Islamic religious school for higher religious education in Lucknow, India founded in 1892 by Ayatullah Syed Muhammad Abul Hasan "Abbu sahab" son of Ayatullah Syed Ali Shah. The extensive buildings were erected under the supervision of the Nawab Mehdi Hasan Khan....
, he went for higher studies in the holy city of Najaf
Najaf
Najaf is a city in Iraq about 160 km south of Baghdad. Its estimated population in 2008 is 560,000 people. It is the capital of Najaf Governorate...
, Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
in 1954. He mastered in Arabic literature
Literature
Literature is the art of written works, and is not bound to published sources...
, Philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
, Hadith
Hadith
The term Hadīth is used to denote a saying or an act or tacit approval or criticism ascribed either validly or invalidly to the Islamic prophet Muhammad....
and Tafseer, Islamic Jurisprudence
Jurisprudence
Jurisprudence is the theory and philosophy of law. Scholars of jurisprudence, or legal theorists , hope to obtain a deeper understanding of the nature of law, of legal reasoning, legal systems and of legal institutions...
and Political Science
Political science
Political Science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior...
. After eight year study in Iraq he returned to Kashmir and started his religion-political obligations and became a most active member of all organizations formed for this purpose. Subsequently he launched a religio-political monthly magazine named “Safeena”.
Entry in politics
On March 27, 1962 Maulana Abbas founded the political party "Jammu & Kashmir Ittihadul Muslimeen"(JKIM) (Unity of Muslims) with the main object of keeping the various sects of Muslims united. JKIM also works for the political, social and economic welfare of the Muslims and demands a UN supervised plebiscite in Kashmir in accordance with the UN resolutions of 1948 - 49.Maulana Abbas Ansari appeared on the political scene of Kashmir in Dec, 1963 amidst the Holy Relic Movement when people clandestinely lifted the Holy Relic of Prophet Mohammad from Hazratbal Shrine of Srinagar
Hazratbal Shrine
The Hazratbal Shrine , is a Muslim shrine in Srinagar, Indian Administered Kashmir. It contains a relic believed by many Muslims of Kashmir to be a hair of the Islamic prophet Muhammad...
. The “Holy Relic Action Committee” was formed as a response to that indecent and Ansari was named coordinator after the ouster of Mirwaiz Farooq. The group was dissolved after the return of the Relic.
Later he along with other political leaders like Molvi Mohammad Farooq, Sofi Mohammad Akbar and others formed a political party named “Peoples Action Committee” in March 1964 to seek the right of self determination for the people of Kashmir. Ansari opposed the holding state political convention in 1967-68 and staged a walk out from the convention in protest against the policies of Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah. He was arrested several times during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965
Indo-Pakistani War of 1965
The Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 was a culmination of skirmishes that took place between April 1965 and September 1965 between Pakistan and India. This conflict became known as the Second Kashmir War fought by India and Pakistan over the disputed region of Kashmir, the first having been fought in 1947...
war under the National Security Act.
Political activities
During 1971 Indo-Pakistani War of 1971Indo-Pakistani War of 1971
The Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 was a military conflict between India and Pakistan. Indian, Bangladeshi and international sources consider the beginning of the war to be Operation Chengiz Khan, Pakistan's December 3, 1971 pre-emptive strike on 11 Indian airbases...
he once again advocated confinement of right of self determination to the people of Kashmir and to silence the voice he was arrested.
After Indira Gandhi
Indira Gandhi
Indira Priyadarshini Gandhara was an Indian politician who served as the third Prime Minister of India for three consecutive terms and a fourth term . She was assassinated by Sikh extremists...
-Sheikh Abdullah accord of February 1975 the Plebiscite Front
Plebiscite Front
The Plebiscite Front was a political party in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir that called for a "popular plebiscite" to decide if the state should remain part of India, join Pakistan or become independent...
was wound up and Sheikh Abdullah revived his National Conference
National Conference
National Conference may refer to:In India:*Jammu & Kashmir National Conference, the largest political party in Jammu and Kashmir, India.*Manipur National Conference, a political party in the Indian state of Manipur that was formed in 2002....
. Maulana Ansari met Sheikh Abdullah in Kotla Lane, New Delhi
New Delhi
New Delhi is the capital city of India. It serves as the centre of the Government of India and the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi. New Delhi is situated within the metropolis of Delhi. It is one of the nine districts of Delhi Union Territory. The total area of the city is...
and appealed him not to let the sacrifices of Kashmir's go waste. He apprised Sheikh that Kashmiri’s have sacrificed a lot from 1947 to 1974 for their right of self determination and their sacrifices can not be bargained for Chief Ministership. Sheikh Abdullah however signed the accord with Indira Gandhi and became the Chief Minister
Chief Minister
A Chief Minister is the elected head of government of a sub-national state, provinces of Sri Lanka, Pakistan, notably a state of India, a territory of Australia or a British Overseas Territory that has attained self-government...
of the State. Maulana opposed this accord tooth and nail and described it as unacceptable to the people of the state. Consequent upon the signing of the accord, the Maulana brought all the people of identical ideology on a single political platform and declared creation of Peoples United Front. The youth turned violently against Sheikh Abdullah and there was an uproar throughout the state against this breach of trust by the Sheikh. The then Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto gave a call for strike on the 28 February to protest against the accord and due to the hard efforts of Peoples United Front the strike was total and telling.
The period 1975-85 witnessed the continuous struggle of Maulana Abbas against New Delhi and the regime in Kashmir. Maulana Abbas played the role of opposition leader when it was mandatory for a politician to seek blessings from Sheikh Abdullah. During this period he always stood for the right of self determination and launched the campaign against liquor trade in Kashmir. Ruling regime took strong opposition to these activities and Maulana was again detained and charged with mutiny and conspiracy against the Indian government. Trial was conducted in a closed room in central jail, Srinagar.
Muslim United Front
In 1986 Maulana assembled Muslim scholars, politicians and parties from all sects and sections on a single platform named Muslim United Front (MUF), on the fundamental issue of strengthening Muslim community. Its stance on Kashmir was clear and unambiguous; that it has been occupied by fraud and brute force and its people had yet to exercise their right of self determination. Maulana was selected conveyor of the Front. In 1987 Front accepted the challenge of the then chief Minister Farooq AbdullahFarooq Abdullah
Farooq Abdullah , born 21 October 1937 in Soura, Jammu & Kashmir, India), is the son of Sheikh Abdullah, is a doctor of medicine and has served as chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir on several occasions since 1982. He is married to Molly, a nurse of British origin...
to fight elections of state assembly to show the world that kashmiri’s does not consider itself to be a part of India emotionally. The front candidates were declared defeated by heavy margins and National Conference-Congress Alliance formed a coalition government in the state. This was the turning point in the history of Kashmir which culminated in armed rebellion against Indian authority. The front supporters particularly the youth who were harassed and tortured during and after elections, switched over to the part of militancy which changed the situation dramatically. Maulana Abbas was arrested on April 13, 1990 under notorious "public safety act" and lodged in Srinagar's infamous Badami Bagh contonment interrogation centre. After a month of interrogation he was put in Jammu central jail from where he was exiled to Jodhpur
Jodhpur
Jodhpur , is the second largest city in the Indian state of Rajasthan. It is located west from the state capital, Jaipur and from the city of Ajmer. It was formerly the seat of a princely state of the same name, the capital of the kingdom known as Marwar...
in western India. From Jodhpur Maulana was shifted to the Tihar Prisons, New Delhi and finally to heavily guarded Mehrolli BSF camp, some 25 km from New Delhi.
Diplomatic struggle
After forming JKIM in 1962, Maulana Abbas started his very struggle on diplomatic front also. In a letter to Mr. U. Thant, the then Secretary General of U.N. in January 1967, Maulana stressed upon the august body of the U.N. to involve a cure for this obnoxious and most dangerous trouble spot on world body. In 1974, Maulana Ansari called upon the leaders of India, Pakistan and world bodies to join hands in granting Kashmiri’s their birth right for which they been and are facing untold miseries.After his release in May 2000, Maulana Abbas undertook an overseas tour to present the freedom movement of Kashmir in its correct perspective and highlight the atrocities being perpetrated on Kashmiris. In United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
, Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
and Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
, he apprised the leadership and the public about the struggle going on the state and the repression unleashed by the Indian security forces. Maulana also gave a comprehensive presentation of the Kashmir cause at the OIC meet in Casablanca
Casablanca
Casablanca is a city in western Morocco, located on the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Grand Casablanca region.Casablanca is Morocco's largest city as well as its chief port. It is also the biggest city in the Maghreb. The 2004 census recorded a population of 2,949,805 in the prefecture...
(Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
) and Doha
Doha
Doha is the capital city of the state of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf, it had a population of 998,651 in 2008, and is also one of the municipalities of Qatar...
(Qatar
Qatar
Qatar , also known as the State of Qatar or locally Dawlat Qaṭar, is a sovereign Arab state, located in the Middle East, occupying the small Qatar Peninsula on the northeasterly coast of the much larger Arabian Peninsula. Its sole land border is with Saudi Arabia to the south, with the rest of its...
) in December 1994 and November 2000 respectively. Later the government of India impounded his passport to prevent him from traveling abroad to champion the Kashmir cause, so he was not allowed to attend OIC’s 10th and 11th summit in Malaysia and Senegal
Senegal
Senegal , officially the Republic of Senegal , is a country in western Africa. It owes its name to the Sénégal River that borders it to the east and north...
in 2003 and 2008 respectively and other conferences across the globe. Maulana Abbas was one of the senior Hurriyat leaders to meet the Pakistan president, General Pervez Musharraf and Iranian President Seyed Mohammad Khatami
Mohammad Khatami
Sayyid Mohammad Khātamī is an Iranian scholar, philosopher, Shiite theologian and Reformist politician. He served as the fifth President of Iran from August 2, 1997 to August 3, 2005. He also served as Iran's Minister of Culture in both the 1980s and 1990s...
and apprised them about the political situation of Kashmir and invited Iranian government to mediate to resolve Kashmir issue.
Resuming the process of interaction in the valley on his return, Maulana Ansari toured towns and villages to address public meetings and come to the aid of the victims of state terrorism.
All Parties Hurriyat Conference
In 1992, Maulana was released along with his political companions like Abdul Gani Lone, Prof.Abdul Gani, Shabir ShahShabir Shah
Shabir Ahmad Shah is the founder and president of the Jammu and Kashmir Democratic Freedom Party. Shah has been fighting for the rights of Kashmiris for over forty years and has spent twenty-six in prison. He is a former Amnesty International prisoner of conscience and is widely known as the...
, Syed Ali Geelani and Qazi Nisar Ahmed. After his release from jail Maulana Abbas, along with his other colleagues, started organizing different political, religious, social and humanitarian organizations and played a role in the formation of All Parties Hurriyat Conference
All Parties Hurriyat Conference
The All Parties Hurriyat Conference is a political front formed as an alliance of 26 political, social and religious organizations in Kashmir. It was formed achieving the right of self-determination according to United Nations Security Council Resolution 47...
(APHC). APHC was founded in 1993 to unite various political parties of Jammu & Kashmir demanding the right of self-determination. Maulana Abbas represents Jammu & Kashmir Ittihadul Muslimeen
Ittihadul Muslimeen
Jammu & Kashmir Ittihadul Muslimeen, JKIM is a Muslim political party in Jammu & Kashmir founded to provide to the people of Jammu and Kashmir a viable, democratic and broad based political platform that would reflect their true will and aspirations and endeavor to...
in its seven-member Executive council, the chief policy make and executive body of A.P.H.C.
The All Parties Hurriyat Conference kept up its campaign for a solution to the Kashmir issue. The leadership of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference was arrested once again in September 1999. Along with his colleagues, Maulana Abbas Ansari spent 8 months in the prison.
The APHC on July 12, 2003 elected Maulana Abbas Ansari, as its Chairman at a meeting of the Executive Committee members. Out of the seven constituents, representatives of six parties were present at the meeting. Abbas Ansari was the fourth chairman of the Hurriyat who replaced Abdul Ghani Bhat on the latter’s completion of his two-year term. Ansari is the first Shiite head the Hurriyat Conference.
Soon after taking over as Chairman, he called for an immediate ceasefire
Ceasefire
A ceasefire is a temporary stoppage of a war in which each side agrees with the other to suspend aggressive actions. Ceasefires may be declared as part of a formal treaty, but they have also been called as part of an informal understanding between opposing forces...
between the security forces and the militants saying "the Kashmir issue is not a border dispute, but a humanitarian problem. It cannot be solved through gun, but only through negotiations"
On May 21, 2004 Abbas Ansari offered to resign his post in an effort to bring about the reunification of the coalition's factions and did so on July of that year. Organization's founder-chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, was asked to work towards restoring the Hurriyat's original executive council and send invitations to all the pre-split executive council members.
Hurriyat-New Delhi Talks
During his tenure as Chairman of APHC, Maulana Abbas initiated a dialogue process with Indian government on the basis that it should be unconditional, level based and exclusively centered on Kashmir problem. An APHC delegation led by Maulana Abbas Ansari and composed of Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, Prof Abdul Ghani Bhat, Bilal Ghani Lone and Fazal-ul-Haq Qureshi negotiated with deputy prime minister of India L. K. Advani in New Delhi on 22nd Jan 2004. The APHC delegation stressed that an honorable and durable solution should be found through dialogue. It was agreed that meeting was the first significant step in the dialogue process and a step-by-step approach would lead to the resolution of all outstanding issues relating to Jammu and Kashmir. The APHC delegation was committed to the enlargement of the dialogue process to cover all regions of Jammu and Kashmir and concerns of all communities.After first round of talks in a joint statement issued by the Indian government and APHC, it was declared that:
“India will safeguard the security of all people and stop the violation of Human rights. Rapid review would be undertaken to examine the cases of those held in detention.”
The United States welcomed the talks between New Delhi and APHC leaders. A State Department official in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, said "We welcome the progress that is being made.” Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf termed these talks as "a very good beginning".
The next round of APHC discussion with Indian government took place in the latter part of March.
Srinagar-Muzaffarabad Road
During his tenure as APHC Chairman, Maulana Abbas also advocated the re-opening of the SrinagarSrinagar
Srinagar is the summer seasonal capital of Jammu and Kashmir. It is situated in Kashmir Valley and lies on the banks of the Jhelum River, a tributary of the Indus. It is one of the largest cities in India not to have a Hindu majority. The city is famous for its gardens, lakes and houseboats...
-Rawalpindi
Rawalpindi
Rawalpindi , locally known as Pindi, is a city in the Pothohar region of Pakistan near Pakistan's capital city of Islamabad, in the province of Punjab. Rawalpindi is the fourth largest city in Pakistan after Karachi, Lahore and Faisalabad...
road so that the people of both parts of Kashmir could meet their kin and help survivors of the 2005 earthquake. “The people on both sides of the Line of Control
Line of Control
The term Line of Control refers to the military control line between the Indian- and Pakistani-controlled parts of the former princely state of Jammu and Kashmir—a line which, to this day, does not constitute a legally recognized international boundary but is the de facto border...
(LoC) have been craving to meet each other. When India and Pakistan can resume the New Delhi
New Delhi
New Delhi is the capital city of India. It serves as the centre of the Government of India and the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi. New Delhi is situated within the metropolis of Delhi. It is one of the nine districts of Delhi Union Territory. The total area of the city is...
-Lahore
Lahore
Lahore is the capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab and the second largest city in the country. With a rich and fabulous history dating back to over a thousand years ago, Lahore is no doubt Pakistan's cultural capital. One of the most densely populated cities in the world, Lahore remains a...
bus service, there is no harm in reopening the Srinagar-Rawalpindi road”, Maulana Said in an interview.
On 7 April 2005, first passengers from either side of the Line of Control cross divided Kashmir as the first Srinagar Muzaffarabad
Muzaffarabad
Muzaffarabad is the capital of Pakistan Occupied Kashmir, Pakistan. It is located in Muzaffarabad District on the banks of the Jhelum and Neelum rivers...
Bus Service was launched. Hurriyet leaders including Maulana Abbas Ansari visited Pakistan and Muzaffarabad in June 2005 crossing LOC by bus.
See Photographs
Hurriyat Conference leadershttp://www.hinduonnet.com/fline/fl1717/17170290.htm
APHC Delegation with the Prime Minister of India, Manmohan Singh
http://www.thehinduimages.com/hindu/photoDetail.do?photoId=7678849