On the second day of Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s three-day trip to Jammu and Kashmir, again another separatist leader stepped away from the Hurriyat Conference, declaring his commitment to the Indian Constitution. Amit Shah is expected to reach the Kashmir Valley in the afternoon after finishing his engagements in the Jammu region. As his visit to the Valley approaches, Bashir Ahmad Andrabi, who leads the Kashmir Freedom Front (KFF), announced that he is cutting all ties with the separatist politics of the Hurriyat Conference and has pledged complete allegiance to the Constitution.

In a written statement, Andrabi clarified that he and his organisation have no ties to the All Parties Hurriyat Conference or any of its factions. He also warned that if anyone tried to associate his party with separatist groups, he would take legal action. “We reject the ideology of the Hurriyat Conference, which has failed to serve the people’s real interests,” Andrabi expressed.

Andrabi’s departure is part of a broader shift, with several former separatist leaders moving away from the Hurriyat. Recently, Ghulam Nabi War, who heads Tehreek-i-Istiqamat, cut ties with the Hurriyat Conference, stating that the group had lost both credibility and the trust of the people. War also warned that misusing his name or his party’s identity would lead to legal action.

Earlier, the Jammu & Kashmir Democratic Political Movement (JKDPM) and the Jammu and Kashmir People’s Movement (JKPM) had also exited the Hurriyat Conference, expressing their commitment to the Indian Constitution and belief in the democratic process.

The Union Home Minister praised these developments, saying they reflect the increasing sense of national unity in Jammu and Kashmir since the abrogation of Article 370. The move away from the Hurriyat Conference comes after the group has become virtually inactive. Formed in 1993, the alliance was initially meant to provide a political platform for the armed insurgency. When it was established on March 3, 1993, the Hurriyat Conference included 26 social, political, and religious groups, including the Kashmir High Court Bar Association and an association of government employees.

The Hurriyat Conference split into two factions on September 7, 2003, one led by hardline separatist Syed Ali Shah Geelani and the other by moderate leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq.

Following the abrogation of Article 370 on August 5, 2019, the Hurriyat Conference became inactive. Since then, there have been no separatist-led political activities such as shutdowns, protests during visits by national leaders to Kashmir, or demonstrations on Independence Day and Republic Day.

Once a significant law and order issue in the region, Stone pelting has also come to a complete halt after the removal of Article 370.