Bilal Veeri CNI

The recent act of Mirwaiz Umar Farooq quietly removing the designation of Chairman, All Parties Hurriyat Conference from his X profile is neither courageous nor meaningful. It is a hollow, belated, and purely cosmetic gesture that cannot erase history, nor can it absolve decades of moral, social, and political damage inflicted upon Kashmir and its people. Editing a social media bio does not amount to accountability, repentance, or transformation.
For over three decades, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq remained one of the most visible and influential faces of separatist politics under the banner of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference.

This platform did not merely represent dissent; it actively nurtured a culture of perpetual unrest, glorified street violence, paralyzed education, destroyed economic activity, and sold dangerous fantasies of so-called Azadi. Those fantasies delivered nothing but bloodshed, ruined generations of Kashmiri youth, widows, orphans, and a society trapped in fear and stagnation.
After eating hundreds of rats, the cat now wishes to go on Haj. This proverb perfectly reflects the timing and intent behind this sudden distancing from the Hurriyat label. When the ideology collapsed, when the narrative stood exposed, and when the ecosystem that thrived on shutdowns and chaos lost relevance, only then did this symbolic act surface.
Who will return the sons snatched away from wailing mothers and grieving fathers Who will answer the sisters whose brothers were pushed into militancy and death Who will restore the lost years of education, the closed schools, the shattered careers, and the future stolen from an entire generation of Kashmiri youth misled by separatist sermons and slogans

And above all, who will give back the homes, lands, temples, livelihoods, and dignity of the Kashmiri Pandit community The community that was brutally targeted, massacred, threatened, and forced into exile from its own homeland The kith and kin who were killed, the properties that were looted and occupied, and a civilization that was uprooted while separatist leaders remained silent or complicit

Before removing any designation, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq must first accept moral responsibility for the consequences of the ideology he represented and propagated. He must publicly acknowledge the devastation caused in the name of separatism and offer an unconditional apology to the entire population of Jammu and Kashmir, especially to the Kashmiri Pandits who lost everything except their faith in India.

The banning of his organization, the Awami Action Committee, under stringent laws did not occur in isolation. It was the result of years of divisive politics, inflammatory narratives, and ideological alignment with forces that pushed Kashmir into chaos and despair.
Let it be stated clearly and without ambiguity. Removing the Hurriyat tag does not wash away guilt. Silence does not equal repentance.

Rebranding does not rewrite history. The people of Kashmir and the Kashmiri Pandits in exile are no longer willing to accept selective amnesia or symbolic posturing. Accountability must come before acceptance. Apology must come before redemption. Truth must come before any claim of moderation.
History will remember who misled Kashmir, who romanticized Pakistan, who legitimized violence, and who destroyed the centuries-old ethos of coexistence. No digital edit can escape that judgment.

Kashmir Watcher, Freelancer and President Kashmiri Pandit Conference ( KPC )
Mobile 8802167955
Email —- kundankashmiri@gmail.com