Srinagar: At a time when the Jammu and Kashmir government is floundering as it tries to control the mass protests across the Valley, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah got some respite from a very unusual quarter: Hurriyat hardliner Syed Ali Shah Geelani.

Released a day after being re-arrested from the premises of the Sher-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences where he was admitted while in custody, Geelani today addressed a press conference at his residence and asked protesters to “desist from arson and attacks on police stations” so that they didn’t lose their “moral high ground” against the “oppressive” state.

Geelani also revealed today that while he was in custody, the CM’s trusted aide, Davinder Singh Rana, had met him and assured him of “political space” — signalling a major shift in the state government’s policy on engaging with hardliners.

“Only we have suffered so far,” he said. “We have suffered...50 civilians have been killed. Our acts are only harming us and not the state. We should think over it with a cool mind...We should take forward this movement in a peaceful manner. It (the protest) should be peaceful. I would like (my message) to be acted upon in letter and spirit. We should march peacefully. When we are stopped (by security forces), we should sit down and ask them to shoot us”.

Ironically, Geelani was arrested on June 20, days after the protests erupted in Srinagar city — the first senior separatist leader to be arrested in the government’s crackdown against the protesters.

Geelani’s words seemed to have struck a chord — at least for most of the day. For the first time in six days, there seemed to be a let-up in the protests but in the evening, CRPF personnel opened fire at protesters in which one was killed in Srinagar’s Bemina neighbourhood.

But there was no mistaking the impact of Geelani’s call when thousands peacefully joined the funeral procession of 19-year-old Iqbal Ahmad Khan — one of the two who succumbed to injuries today — in Srinagar’s native Natipora locality.

There were many who actively ensured that no stone was thrown. Geelani addressed this gathering and insisted that people must protest peacefully. Soon after the funeral, the crowd people dispersed without any incident.

Barely an hour later, the CRPF opened fire at protesters in the city’s Nund Reshi colony in Bemina, killing Mohamamd Yaqoub. Subsequently, protests erupted in the city’s Haba Kadal and Gunpatyar neighbouhoods where protesters attacked police posts guarding minority families.

Security forces also opened fire at Fateh Kadal in downtown where people came out to protest late tonight.

Earlier, Geelani explained why people must “desist” from violence despite provocation from security forces. “Those who burn railway stations, those who burn police stations — this is a reaction against the oppression of India, against India’s merciless measures. But it is against our basic principles and it harms our basic cause. We should ensure that our reaction should not harm our basic cause...This siege (around the government buildings), it is true that it is a reaction against the massacre of people by India here. But it has nothing to do with our movement. It only harms us.”

Geelani said: “In all circumstances, we (people) should be seen as oppressed and not oppressors so that we achieve the moral high ground while we continue our struggle”.

Geelani said that the Chief Minister’s political advisor Davinder Singh Rana came to meet him while he was in custody. “D S Rana met me and said that they (the government) would give me space to work for the cause I stand for. He said that it should be peaceful,” Geelani said. “He also enquired whether we (hardline separatists) wanted a change of guard in J&K. We made it clear to him (Rana) that it is irrelevant to us as to who is in the chair”.

Rana’s visit to Geelani is significant. For, he is the closest aide to the Chief Minister. So direct engagement with Geelani at this level is viewed as a major shift in J-K government’s policy to seek help of Hurriyat hardliners in lieu of a promise to provide them political space to conduct “peaceful separatist activities.”

It’s also a clear admission by the government that Geelani holds sway over a substantial section of the population and is able to influence the protesters who have otherwise declined to heed repeated appeals from the CM himself.

This is, however, a gamble because the government has no clue as to how Geelani’s words will play out in the coming days and weeks. A lot depends on how the police and security forces react to protests. When contacted, Rana declined to comment on the contours of his meeting with Geelani.

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