Masarat Alam Bhat spent 17 years in jail, has 27 FIRs against him

From the face of 2010 agitation to being touted as the natural successor of ageing Hurriyat hawk Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Masarat Alam Bhat has come a long way to become the new face of the hard-line pro-Pakistan separatist bloc in Jammu and Kashmir.

Who is Masarat Alam Bhat?
43-year-old former commander of Hizbullah, Bhat, who now heads Pro Pakistan J&K Muslim League had become a separatist cult-figure in 2010 when he led the agitation from underground and launched "Quit Kashmir" movement giving sleepless nights to the police. A former student leader, Bhat, resident of Zaindar Moholla in Srinagar, has served 17 years in jail at different intervals since the onset of militancy in 1990. An alumnus of top Christian missionary school here, Bhat joined separatist Muslim Students Federation in his student days and was a regular participant in the protests and processions for 'azadi'.

What was his role in 2010 agiation?
Bhat was the face of the 2010 agitation in which 120 people were killed mostly in the firing by security forces on the stone-pelting mobs. One of the most-wanted men for the police in 2010, Bhat was issuing the protest calendars from underground which people were following in letter and spirit. Though police was grappling in dark about his whereabouts, he always managed to reach out to the people with his men and supporters spreading across the valley. Sometimes addressing a press conference under the nose of police and sometimes even distributing CDs with recorded speech among media to show his existence.

When was he arrested?
Police achieved success in October 2010 when they arrested him from his hideout in 2010. He was slapped Public Safety Act (PSA) six times. "They (government) revoked my PSA once when the case was in apex court. But they did not release me. They again booked me under PSA for sixth time which was expiring this month," Bhat said. Police had registered 27 FIRs against him in different police stations across the state. He was booked for stringent cases like sedition, attempt to murder and waging war against the state. "To say Alam wasn't charged is a blatant untruth - he was charged under sections Sec 120, 121 (waging war against state) 120-b (criminal conspiracy) & 307 (attempt to murder) also," tweeted Omar.

How much sway doe he hold in the Geelani-led Hurriyat Conference?
Known as a firebrand leader, Bhat is touted as the successor to the 86-year-old ailing Geelani in the hardline faction of the Hurriyat Conference. Bhat shot into fame first in 2003 when Hurriyat Conference spilt and he became the interim head of the Geelani led faction.
When Geelani took over the reins of hard-line Hurriyat faction, Bhat slipped into oblivion. But the big moment came in 2008 Amarnath land row when he was nominated as a spokesman of the Coordination Committee of the both factions of the Hurriyat, which became the reason for his arrest under PSA.
"We are part of the Hurriyat Conference. We will chalk out future course of action once Geelani Sahab is back", said Bhat