Srinagar polls near, an unusual visitor makes an unusual visit to Jamia Masjid

WHEN HE made a surprise visit to Jamia Masjid while campaigning for his party candidate Mohammad Ashraf Mir in Srinagar Old City Monday, J&K Apni Party leader Altaf Bukhari became the first mainstream leader since the inception of militancy in 1990 to do so.

The Old City or downtown Srinagar is seen as the hotbed of separatism in Jammu and Kashmir’s summer capital, with the historic grand mosque, the religious seat of Hurriyat chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, at the heart of it. Even when mainstream political activity was seen in the Old City area intermittently over the years, the Jamia Masjid remained a no-go area for mainstream politicians.

Bukhari’s surprise visit came against the backdrop of his efforts over the past year to garner support from the vast separatist constituency, and the coming Lok Sabha elections where his party is a prominent stakeholder in the Valley area.

This is especially significant as the Apni Party, set up in 2020, after the abrogation of Article 370, has been trailed by the impression that it is the Centre’s proxy in Kashmir.

In June last year, Bukhari made his first public attempt to reach out to the other side when he visited former Hurriyat chairman Abdul Gani Bhat at his Sopore home. Unlike in the past when political leaders would keep meetings with separatists secret, Bukhari posted his picture with Bhat on social media.

A few weeks later, Bukhari drove to the residence of another Hurriyat leader and Shia cleric, Aga Hassan Musavi, in Budgam. This time again, Bukhari posted his picture with Aga Hassan on Twitter, now X.

Bukhari even made an overture towards the Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI), which was banned by the Centre as an “unlawful association” in February 2019. In September 2023, the Apni Party