-Sheikh Khalid Jehangir –
Self-styled deputy grand Mufti of Kashmir Mufti Nasir-ul-Islam, whose only qualification is that he is the son of Mufti Bashiruddin, wants Muslims to demand a separate nation.
Addressing a news conference in Srinagar he recently said, “The way Muslims have been treated since 1975, is absolutely shameful. The treatment meted out to them is unacceptable. Indian Muslims have realised that they are not safe in India. They must now demand for a separate nation.”
It’s unfortunate that people like Mufti Nasir, who are just non-entities, have started giving sermons to nationalist Muslims, who rejected two- nation theory of Mohammad Ali Jinah seventy years ago and stayed in India. People like Mufti Nasir should be booked for trying to divide the nation on religious lines and for spreading hatred.
Mufti Nasir’s statement cannot be brushed aside.
People like Mufti Nasir are trying to make their presence felt as separatists like Hurriyat hawk Syed Ali Shah Geelani, As Hurriyat dove Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and so-called JKLF chief Yasin Malik have become irrelevant, people like Mufti Nasir are trying to fill in the gap. They are trying to prove it to Pakistan that they could be their next bet in Kashmir.
Besides the donations which they get from followers after providing so-called spiritual advice. the main source of income for these vclerics is the foreign funding which they used to get through Hawala channels and other sources. These channels have been choked as the National Investigating Agency has put a lid on these and has exposed the people who keep on setting the Kashmir on fire.
It may be recalled Mufti Nasir’s father Mufti Bashiruddin had issued a decree (fatwa) denouncing Kashmir’s only musical girls band “Pragassh” and had termed it unIslamic following which the young girls were put in a tight spot and they dissolved their band. Just a few days after giving the fatwa against Pargaash, Mufti Bashiruddin was seen enjoying music at Dal Lake.
People like Mufti Nasir and his father are known for their double standards, people don’t trust them as they resort to different tactics for the sake of money.
Recent media reports have revealed that second rung separatists like Mufti Nasir are trying to convince Pakistan to invest on them. If a thorough probe is ordered it would be clear that Mufti Nasir’s latest statement on Muslims in India is the idea of his bosses sitting in Pakistan and across the LoC. Nasir stirred hornet’s nest just to appease the people sitting in Pakistan so that they start recognising him and release the stipend in his favour.
The security agencies should investigate and ascertain at whose behest are the people like Mufti Nasir give such statements? The Jammu and Kashmir government needs to wake up and put such elements behind the bars before it’s too late.
The nation cannot allow such elements to roam scot free as they are a threat to the society and can cause a big damage to the very idea of India. People like Nasir have constructed big mansions and are living a luxurious life. They should be asked how come they possess assets
disproportionate to their known sources of income. Such elements have to be tackled well before they become threat to peace.
(The writer is a Srinagar-based freelancer)
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