Former Hurriyat Leader Prof Abdul Ghani Passes Away

Sopore : Prof. Abdul Gani Bhat, the academic-turned-separatist leader who for decades remained a prominent voice in Kashmir's turbulent political journey, passed away on Wednesday evening at his residence in Botingoo, Sopore. He was 90 and had been ailing for some time.

Family members confirmed his passing, adding that details of his funeral prayers will be announced later.

Born in 1935 in Botingoo, a village near Sopore in north Kashmir, Bhat grew up in a household that valued education. He studied at Srinagar's historic SP College before moving on to postgraduate studies in Persian and later acquiring a law degree from Aligarh Muslim University. Returning to his home state, he began teaching Persian at the Government Degree College in Poonch, a career he cherished and pursued for over two decades before politics pulled him into a different calling.

His formal entry into politics came in 1986 when he co-founded the Muslim United Front (MUF), a coalition that challenged the ruling NC-Congress alliance in the 1987 Assembly elections. The MUF's defeat-widely blamed on large-scale electoral rigging-proved to be a watershed moment in Kashmir's modern political history. ​B​hat's activism cost ​h​im his teaching post, as he was dismissed from government service on what the state termed“security grounds.”

In the years that followed, ​P​rof Ghani rose to become one of the key figures in separatist politics. He was among the founding members of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC), formed in 1993, and later went on to serve as its chairman. He also led the Muslim Conference, a party that was eventually banned in 2019.

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