IHK CM frees top separatist, embarrasses BJP, strains ties

The IHK government on Saturday released leading separatist and president of Muslim League Masarat Alam Butt who was accused of being the “mastermind” of street violence across Kashmir valley, heightening Bhartia Janta Party (BJP)’s worry about the political cost of its alliance with Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed’s PDP and straining the fledgling coalition.

The release of Alam, a senior figure in the separatist Hurriyat Conference, marked compliance with Sayeed’s order on Thursday to release “political prisoners” who faced no criminal charges. Alam was accused of being the choreographer of the violence which rampaged across the Kashmir valley for four months leaving 112 youth dead and hundreds others, including security personnel, injured.

Masarat led the 2010 uprising by issuing protest calendars in June, 2010. Public Safety Act was slapped against him six times since his arrest in 2010, but these were quashed by the high court. However, he was detained on some other charges for committing similar offences in Jammu.

Jammu Deputy Commissioner A K Sahu issued the release orders of Alam, but evaded questions about the charges against him.

So did BJP spokespersons, even as sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, indicated that the leadership was upset over the release and was analyzing the situation. They acknowledged that the development has compounded the embarrassment the party faced because of Sayeed’s statement made on the day he was sworn in.

They said while Sayeed has stressed that Alam was under preventive detention and there was no case pending against him, it will be difficult to explain the “nuances” to the saffron constituency.

In the meanwhile, Masarat Alam Butt, taking a jibe at the puppet coalition administration of PDP and BJP has said that the change of a political set-up does not change the ground reality over the disputed status of Jammu and Kashmir.

In a media interview in Srinagar, he said that his release from Baramulla prison was not part of a deal as he had been out on bail thrice earlier.

“I have been arrested many times and have been granted bail thrice and therefore it is not a deal if I have been released. I have spent most of the time in jails since my childhood therefore it would not be a deal if I get arrested again,” he said. “I’m feeling relaxed, spending time with my family, It’s just a normal release, has been done in a legal way,” he added.

Meanwhile, the release of Masarrat Aalam Butt was welcomed by Hurriyet leaders, who have been demanding his release and other youth languishing in jails in and outside Jammu and Kashmir.