People have been armed to wipe out Jama’at, TeH: Sehrai

Srinagar: Tehreek-e-Hurriyat (TeH) chairman Muhammad Ashraf Sehrai on Wednesday said that the plan to wipe out Jamat-e-Islami and his party is being once again executed by “Indian agencies” and that the people have been armed on the pattern of Ikhwan, an erstwhile government militia.
Sehrai was addressing the mourners at the residence of Hurriyat leader Mir Hafizullah who was shot dead by unknown gunmen at his native Baddoo village of Achabal in south Kashmir’s Anantnag district.
“From last few years we were getting credible information about the designs of Indian agencies to target Jama’at-e-Islami and Tehreek-e-Hurriyat in particular and in this regard they have prepared a list too,” said Sehrai.
He said that in the nineties and early 2000, Jama’at activists were selectively targeted by Ikhwanis and its cadre was almost wiped out.
Sehrai’s remarks come a day after Hurriyat (G) chairman and TeH founder Syed Ali Shah Geelani accused the Indian agencies of targeting TeH “as they did to Jama’at.”
“As soon as TEH was formed in 2004, one of our core members Advocate Hisam u Din of Sopore was shot dead in broad daylight in order to silence us. Subsequently, our entire leadership and activists used to be behind bars most of the time. But that did not deter us from pursuing our cherished goal of Azadi for the sake of Islam,” said Sehrai.
“Now Indian agencies have once again armed certain people secretly to repeat the same and they have begun to execute this plan.”
Sehrai cited the example of two other Hurriyat activists apart from Hafizullah who were assassinated this year- Hakeem u Rehman Sultani of Bomai Sopore and Tariq Ahmad Ganai of Memander Shopian, who was earlier associated with TeH and then joined Masrat Alam led Muslim League.
“We are ready to give blood than to surrender,” Sehrai said.
Paying tributes to Hafizullah Mir, he termed him as honest, upright person who despite living life of penury did not budge before Indian agencies.
“His house was ransacked and household goods looted and he grew up in jail. But he never complained and his passion for freedom did not weaken a bit,” said Sehrai.