Geelani visits native village in Sopore after eight years, reiterates demand for self-determination

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SOPORE: Hurriyat (G) chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani on Thursday visited his native Dooru village after a gap of eight years to meet his bereaved daughter.

Ghulam Hassan Makdhoomi, the eldest son-in-law of the octogenarian leader, had passed away at SKIMS Soura on Tuesday.

A statement issued here by the amalgam said the octogenarian leader while consoling the children of deceased and his elder daughter, amongst thousands of mourners, said that “occupation authorities, with a heavy heart, have let him come to this place after about eight years.”

Geelani, who has been under detention at his residence in Hyderpora area of Srinagar since 2010, was allowed by the authorities to visit his bereaved daughter today.

Addressing the mourners, Geelani reiterated his demand for self-determination and said that despite oppression, the youth are sacrificing their lives to end the “Indian occupation.”

“I have been confined in the four walls of my house since 2010 with a large contingent of police and CRPF. My residence has actually been changed into a prison, where every visitor is frisked and searched so minutely that people including our relatives are reluctant to visit us,” Geelani said.

He said as per two-nation theory, two countries – India and Pakistan — came into existence; however, Kashmir was “illegally occupied by India by sending its troops.”

Geelani said that over one lakh people in Kashmir have sacrificed their lives for the just cause of self-determination.