Jamaat-e-Islami, Jammu and Kashmir, a cadre-based organisation which has been quite active on the state’s political arena, fought elections to the state Assembly yet proliferated separatism has formally split.
Prof. Muhammad Abdullah Shaida, an old guard, has been joined by a group of influential partymen to form a parallel Jamaat. The 65-year-old Shaida termed the decision as “painful but unavoidable”.
The 65-year-old Shaidae accused the Jamaat leadership of indulging in activities that were “quite against the spirit and letter of the party’s constitution”. He added saying that, “A conscious group of senior members objected to it and informed the Jamaat leadership of its defiance of the constitution.
But instead of reforming and correcting themselves, they took it as rebellion on our part and expelled us from the party’s basic rukniyat (membership)”.
The rebel leader said that he had a series of meetings with the Central leadership of the party “but it remained stuck to its positions forcing us to form a separate faction”.
It is for the first time in its 65-year history that Jamaat-e-Islami, Jammu and Kashmir, which is independent from Jamaat-e-Islami Hind and Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan has formally split. However, in the past senior leaders like Syed Ali Shah Geelani have also rebelled against the party leadership.
Mr Geelani launched a separate political group Tehreek-e-Hurriyat Kash-mir in 2004.
He was joined by several senior and second-rung leaders of the party as the new group surfaced only with Jamaat approval.
It, however, cancelled the membership of Mr Geelani and his close associate Mohammed Ashraf Sahari in its Majlis-e-Shoora (advisory council) later, causing serious controversy among the party’s basic members that ultimately is believed to have led to formal split of the party.