Opposition should have been consulted: Farooq

By Shujaat Bukhari

SRINAGAR SEPT. 29. The Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister, Dr. Farooq Abdullah, today regretted that the Centre had not taken the Opposition into confidence while deciding to ban the Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI).

The State Assembly witnessed noisy scenes over the issue.

Initiating a discussion during zero hour, the Shia leader, Moulvi Iftikhar Ansari, expressed shock over the raids on the world- famous Darul Uloom at Deoband saying it had been the highest seat of learning for the Muslims around the world with an unblemished record.

``If the campaign to defame Muslims, branding them as terrorists, continues, it will disintegrate India,'' he said, adding that Deoband had played a great role in the freedom struggle denouncing the two-nation theory.

Dr. Farooq Abdullah said terrorism was not acceptable to any civilisation in the world.

The Chief Minister said the Centre should have consulted the Opposition before banning the SIMI.

The reports and evidence the Centre had should have been put before the Opposition, he said. He stressed the need to have an all-party meeting on the issue.

Geelani assails ban

Describing the ban on the SIMI as a ``ban on Islam'', the former Hurriyat Conference chairman, Syed Ali Geelani, alleged that the sole purpose was to ``target Islam''.

Addressing a press conference here, Mr. Geelani admitted he had close association with the SIMI and had attended a number of congregations organised by it.

Condemning the ban, he said the madrasas were the representative institutions of Islam and it was unfortunate that they were being linked to the ISI. He said the SIMI was not an underground organisation and had nothing to do with subversion.

Mr. Geelani said the RSS and the Bajrang Dal were known communal organisations and have been running training camps, but they had not been banned. ``I support the SIMI activities and there is no justification in banning this organisation,'' he said.

On Friday, the Hizb-ul-Mujahideen denied it had any links with the SIMI. ``The SIMI had no links, either direct or indirect, with the Hizb-ul-Mujahideen,'' its spokesman, Mr. Salim Hashmi, said in a statement from Islamabad.

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