Geelani, Salahuddin praise for Al Qaeda fighter raises questions in Kashmir

Kashmiri separatism for years has insisted it had no links with global Islamist fundamentalist movements like Al Qaeda and the Islamic State.

Watchers of Kashmiri separatism are intrigued by an unexplained ideological turnaround by Tehrik-e-Hurriyat leader, Syed Ali Shah Geelani, and by Syed Salahuddin, the Hizb-ul-Mujahideen (Hizb) chief, who also heads the Pakistan-backed separatist alliance, United Jihad Council (UJC).

After years of insisting that Kashmiri separatism had no links with global Islamist fundamentalist movements like Al Qaeda and the Islamic State (IS, or Daesh), both Geelani and Salahuddin issued eulogies for Zakir Musa, the Al Qaeda-associated militant, who security forces gunned down in Pulwama, Kashmir, on Friday.

For Geelani and Salahuddin, Kashmiri nationalist identity is fundamental to their call for seceding from India, notwithstanding