Mirwaiz's long time associate parts way due to strained ties

Srinagar, Mar 21 (UNI) A senior member of the Awami Action Committee (AAC), headed by moderate Hurriyat Chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, has resigned from the party, citing strained relations with the leadership as the reason for his decision.

Mohammad Yaqoob Vakil, the secretary to Mirwaiz Farooq, resigned from the AAC following serious differences with the party leadership over some issues.

Mr Vakil had a long association of more than 35 years with the AAC and the Mirwaiz family.

The veteran AAC leader worked for 17 years as the Press Secretary and the Public Relations officer to Mirwaiz Moulvi Mohammad Farooq till his assassination in 1991.

Later, he worked as the secretary to the present Mirwaiz.

''It is painful to part ways with the party for which I worked for more than 35 years with sincerity, loyalty and honesty, but the unavoidable circumstances have forced me to take the step. I will soon announce my future political programme,'' Mr Vakil said in a statement here.

Meanwhile, the Mirwaiz has effected some major organisational changes in the moderate Hurriyat Conference to reactivate the separatist amalgam.

In an extraordinary meeting here, the Executive Council, the highest decision making body of the Hurriyat Conference, appointed amalgam spokesman Advocate Shahid-ul-Islam as the in-charge of the headquarters of the separatist conglomerate.

He has also been appointed as the personal secretary to the Hurriyat Conference chairman.

The decisions were part of the Hurriyat Conference's strategy to reactivate the separatist conglomerate.

The moderate Hurriyat Conference would launch a mass contact programme across Jammu and Kashmir from April one and inform the general public about the four-point formula of Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf to resolve the contentious Kashmir issue.

UNI