Dictatorial attitude has weakened JKLF.

Dictatorial attitude has weakened JKLF. 01 July 2004
Dr Shabir Choudhry, Chairman Diplomatic Committee of JKLF

Dr Shabir Choudhry said JKLF is unfortunate organisation and its members are also unfortunate people because despite sincerity of its cadres and great sacrifices the organisation is becoming weaker and misdirected because of dictatorial attitude of its top leadership.

Commenting on the resignation of Javed Mir, Dr Shabir Choudhry said, Mir Sahib has played a leading role in setting up the JKLF on that side of the LOC, and made great sacrifices, especially as a militant commander. His departure from the JKLF and departure of many other talented people before him is due to dictatorial attitude of JKLF top leadership on both sides of the divide which frustrated people and they were left with no choice but to say good bye to the JKLF.

Apparently he has resigned from the basic membership of the JKLF due to health reasons, and people in politics know very well that whenever some one is forced out, ‘bad health’ is always the reason given to people.

Dr Choudhry said up till Friday his health was good enough to be active in all JKLF activities, even he was an active member of the signature campaign travelling from one village to another, but within few days it allegedly got so bad that he resigned from the basic membership. Who is going to believe this lame excuse? On serious health grounds he could have resigned from his position or reduced his activities until his health recovered.

Inside story is that there are serious differences the way the organisation is run from the top, and this resentment runs across all zones of the organisation. As a result of dictatorial policies and misguided loyalty of top leadership, many senior JKLF people have decided to stay at home, and some have decided to call it a day, call it ‘health reason’, disillusionment or something else, people slowly but surely are leaving the JKLF ranks.

Some time back I and other colleagues like Abbas Butt were also attacked by this ‘disease’, but we decided to fight back, rather than sitting at home under pretext of ‘bad health’. Dr Shabir Choudhry said, if human body is affected by some disease, medical help is provided to that person to cure his body, but if body of organisation is suffering from some disease then we cannot go home under pretext of ‘bad health’. We have to cure body of organisation and fight back our corner.

Dr Choudhry said, on this point I was told by a senior member that if Javed Mir was in London he ‘would surely have fought back’; and if you had been resident of Srinagar you would have also resigned under pretext of ‘bad health’.

Dr Shabir Choudhry said we have also given sacrifices and spent more than 25 years of life time to project the JKLF and its policy of united and independent Kashmir. He said problems arose due to lack of democratisation in the organisation, and subtle shift in the fundamental policy of the JKLF. Instead of speaking for rights of all Kashmiris irrespective of their social, ethnic and regional background, some senior leaders became very selective and only spoke about rights of the Valley, hence seriously damaging the fundamental character of the JKLF. END