India: Information on the Hurriyat Conference, including names of component organizations, and on whether it is pro-Pakistani
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 1 December 1994 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | IND19211.E |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, India: Information on the Hurriyat Conference, including names of component organizations, and on whether it is pro-Pakistani, 1 December 1994, IND19211.E, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6ac5a0.html [accessed 17 September 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
Detailed information on the All Party Hurriyat Conference is scarce and brief among the sources currently available to the DIRB.
According to a geography professor at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis who is currently writing a book on Kashmir, and who has visited top leaders of the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) in both India- and Pakistan-controlled Kashmirs, the Hurriyat Conference was formed in September 1993 by 11 parties, including the JKLF, and 20 groups not designated as parties (29 Sept. 1994). The professor stated that due to the Line of Control separating India- from Pakistan-controlled Kashmir, which he likened to the former Berlin Wall, the Pakistani JKLF has only limited verbal input to the Hurriyat Conference, if any at all (29 Sept. 1994). The professor was unable to list the component members of the Hurriyat Conference.
While in Jammu and Kashmir in June 1994, the geography professor attended a meeting of the Hurriyat Conference in which the Hurriyat Conference created three subgroups within itself: one which favoured independence, one which favoured union with Pakistan, and a third which favoured a pan-Islamic confederation (21 Dec. 1994). However, to his knowledge, the professor was unaware of any member of the Hurriyat Conference which espoused a pan-Islamic confederation, although he added that there must have been a group which sought such a confederation, otherwise there would have been no need to include it as a subgroup to the Hurriyat Conference (ibid.). Corroborating information could not be found among the sources currently available to the DIRB.
According to a variety of sources, the Hurriyat Conference is an umbrella organization and includes between 30 and 34 Kashmiri separatist and social groups and parties (Reuters 27 Nov. 1994, 2; ibid. 24 Sept. 1994; Financial Times 8 Nov. 1994; Deutsche Presse-Agentur 6 Sept. 1994; AP 8 Aug. 1994; The Vancouver Sun 13 July 1994). According to Voice of America, it is a coalition of over 30 Muslim political, religious and trade union organizations in Indian Kashmir, led by chairman Umar Farooq (12 Oct. 1994). None of the sources consulted listed or described the groups who are members of the Hurriyat Conference. According to the attached India Today article, most of Kashmir's pro-Pakistan parties have joined the Hurriyat Conference (15 Nov. 1994, 25).
According to an MNS News report, "the two main constituents of the All Party Hurriyat Conference" are the Jamaat-i-Islami, led by Syed Ali Shah Geelani, and the People Conference, led by Professor Abdul Ghani Lone (30 Sept. 1994).
Leaders of the Hurriyat Conference announced in October 1994 that it would not participate in the electoral process in India- occupied Kashmir planned for the upcoming year (BBC Summary 20 Oct. 1994; Xinhua 1 Nov. 1994; Voice of America 12 Oct. 1994).
According to BBC Summary and Reuters reports, the Hurriyat Conference called a state-wide strike on 6 June 1994 and another strike in September in order to draw attention to the issue of human rights in Kashmir (BBC Summary 16 June 1994; Reuters 24 Sept. 1994). The Hurriyat Conference also sent a memorandum to UN member states requesting support for its "demand that residents of Jammu and Kashmir be allowed to determine whether the state will remain under Indian rule" (ibid.).
For additional information on the Hurriyat Conference and the membership of the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF), please refer to Response to Information Request PAK18509.E of 30 September 1994, which is available at Regional Documentation Centres.
This response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the DIRB within time constraints. This response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum.
References
The Associated Press (AP). 8 August 1994. "Prime Minister Rao Offers Dialogue with Militants in Kashmir." (NEXIS)
BBC Summary of World Broadcasts [London]. 20 October 1994. "Kashmir: Hurriyat Conference Declines to Take Part in Elections." (NEXIS)
. 16 June 1994. "State-Wide Strike in Kashmir; Executive Council of Hurriyat Conference to Meet." (NEXIS)
Deutsche Presse-Agentur. 6 September 1994. BC Cycle. "India Refuses Kashmiri Leaders for Islamic Meet." (NEXIS)
Financial Times [London]. 8 November 1994. Shiraz Sidhva. "Survey of India." (NEXIS)
India Today [Delhi]. 15 November 1994. Harinder Baweja. "Kashmir: Striking a New Resonance."
MNS News. 30 September 1994. "India Announces Release of Prominent Leaders of Kashmir." (WEB)
Professor of geography with expertise on Kashmir, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis. 21 December 1994. Telephone interview.
. 29 September 1994. Telephone interview.
Reuters. 27 November 1994. BC Cycle. Nelson Graves. "Kashmiri Separatists Despair of Foreign Help." (NEXIS)
. 24 September 1994. BC Cycle. "18 Killed in Kashmir Clashes." (NEXIS)
The Vancouver Sun. 13 July 1994. Final Edition. G. Fai. "Clear Up Kashmir Issue." (NEXIS)
Voice of America. 12 October 1994. Michael Drudge. "India/Kashmir." (WEB)
Xinhua. 1 November 1994. "Polls in India-Held Kashmir Within a Year: Chaven." (NEXIS)
Attachments
Amnesty International. 10 May 1994. "India: Amnesty International Calls for Release of Prisoners of Conscience." (AI Index: ASA 20/WU 04/94). London: Amnesty International.
BBC Summary of World Broadcasts. 16 June 1994. "State-Wide Strike in Kashmir; Executive Council of Hurriyat Conference to Meet." (NEXIS)
Deutsche Presse-Agentur. 6 September 1994. BC Cycle. "India Refuses Kashmiri Leaders for Islamic Meet." (NEXIS)
Dialogue. October 1994. Zafar Khan. "Conflict Over Kashmir," p. 5.
India News Network Digest (excerpt). 7 September n.y. "India Bars Kashmiri Group From Islamic Meeting." (WEB)
(excerpt). 6 September n.y. "India Accuses Pakistan Over Kashmir Group." (WEB)
India Today [Delhi]. 15 November 1994. Harinder Baweja. "Kashmir: Striking a New Resonance."
MNS News. 30 September 1994. "India Announces Release of Prominent Leaders of Kashmir." (WEBB)
Reuters. 24 September 1994. BC Cycle. "18 Killed in Kashmir Clashes." (NEXIS)
Voice of America. 12 October 1994. Michael Drudge. "India/Kashmir." (WEB)
The Xinhua News Agency. 1 November 1994. "Polls in India-Held Kashmir Within a Year: Chaven." (NEXIS)
Additional Sources Consulted
Amnesty International Report. Yearly. 1991 to present.
Critique: Review of the US Department of State's Country Reports on Human Rights Practices. Yearly. 1990 to 1993.
DIRB "Amnesty International: India" country file. 1993 to present.
DIRB Indexed Media Review [Ottawa]. Weekly. 1992 to present.
DIRB "India" country file. 1993 to present.
Foreign Broadcast Information Service (FBIS) Reports. Daily. 1993 to present.
Human Rights Watch World Report. Yearly. 1992 to present.
India Today [New Delhi]. Fortnightly. 1993 to present.
World Human Rights Guide. Yearly. 1994.
On-line search of media sources.