Sajad Lone was an ultra-radical secessionist leader in Kashmir till May 21, 2002.
He was young, educated in Cardiff, UK, the son of a prominent Kashmiri politician, Abdul Ghani Lone, who also joined the separatist bandwagon and the son-in-law of an extremist leader, often accused of terrorism, Amanullah Khan.
Sajad Lone was fiercely vocal in his support and advocacy of secessionism in Kashmir.
However, everything changed on May 21, 2002, when his father was assassinated in full public view at a public rally in Srinagar.
While initially the assassination was blamed on the Indian government, later it was established that it was the handiwork of the ISI, which disillusioned Sajad.
Sajad Lone is now the People’s Conference candidate from the Baramulla parliamentary constituency. He is the son of Abdul Gani Lone, one of the founding members of the secessionist All Party Hurriyat Conference.
Sajad also happens to be the son-in-law of Amanullah Khan, the co-founder of Jammu and Liberation Front, along with Maqbool Bhat.
Khan’s daughter Asma Khan is married to Lone.
Sajad’s father Abdul Ghani Lone was assassinated by militants in 2002.
Amanullah Khan died in Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir in 2016.
Sajad’s brother Bilal Lone is still an executive member of the All Party Hurriyat Conference, which is as good as dead right now.
Sajad is currently contesting against former Chief Minister and National Conference candidate Omar Abdullah from the north Kashmir constituency of Baramulla.
He is “unofficially” supported by the Bharatiya Janata Party. Omar Abdullah is supported by the Congress.
Although both the National Conference as well as the People’s Democratic Party led by Mehbooba Mufti are part of the Indian National Democratic Inclusive Alliance (INDIA), the PDP is fighting elections of its own, while the Congress and the National Conference remain alliance partners.
Sajad is a fiery and aggressive orator.
He was very much active with the secessionist movement in Kashmir like his father and brother.
However, the assassination of his father Ghani Lone at the behest of the Inter-Services Intelligence of Pakistan disillusioned and alienated him from the separatist movement.
He rebelled and revived his father’s People’s Conference and contested the assembly election for the first time in 2014.
He was supported by the BJP and became a minister in Mehbooba Mufti’s government under the BJP’s quota in the coalition arrangement.
He fell apart from the BJP after the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019, which momentarily united all the Kashmir-based political parties, bringing fierce rivals like the National Conference, the People’s Democratic Party and the People’s Conference besides some others under one platform, the ‘Gupkar Alliance’.
The Alliance was named after the place Gupkar, where the first meeting of the alliance was held. The alliance was dissolved early this year.
The BJP has not fielded any candidate from Baramulla parliamentary constituency.
It does not have any alliance with any political party including Lone’s People’s Conference.
But the subtle and secret message to the BJP workers and supporters is clear; to vote for him against NC’s Omar Abdullah
There is a reason for that. Sajad has always been all praise for Prime Minister Modi.
He has been publicly proclaiming that there are no more buyers for the separatist ideology in Kashmir. His total transformation from an ultra-radical separatist to a “nationalist” who is all praise for Modi, probably best symbolises the complete transformation in Kashmir.
He represents the change at the ground and grassroots level.
If an ultra-radical secessionist like Sajad can join the mainstream, then something has changed in Kashmir for the right reasons.
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