"Geelani on payroll of ISI": NC leader

Srinagar, Jul 15: Ruling National Conference leader Mustafa Kamal accused hardline Hurriyat leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani of being "a double agent" on "the payroll of Pakistan's ISI".

"(Geelani is) a double agent .. a four time MLA who has been drawing pension and has been even on the payroll of ISI, should we consider him fit enough to talk about morality," National Conference Additional General Secretary Mustafa Kamal alleged, referring to Geelani who was an MLA from Sopore constituency before militancy erupted in Jammu and Kashmir.

Kamal, uncle of Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and younger brother of Union Minister Farooq Abdullah, claimed that Geelani was taking "dictation" from Pakistan. "Whenever even a Pakistani clerk comes to India and summons this ex-lawmaker, he rushes to Delhi to take dictation about how to ensure that uncertainty prevails in the state," he said.

Kamal said Geelani has tried to "ignite and incite" people by "hollow slogans and destructive emotionalism".

PTI