By IANS
Srinagar : The moderate faction of the separatist Hurriyat Conference, led by Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, got a shot in the arm Monday when a frontline Kashmiri secessionist leader Shabir Shah joined the conglomerate.
The move comes nearly a week after Mirwaiz had met Shah and asked him to join the conglomerate in an effort to forge unity among the various separatist factions in Kashmir.
Shah had laid down conditions for forging the unity among the divided separatists.
Mirwaiz and Shah visited the martyr’s graveyard at Eidgah in downtown Srinagar Monday morning, where they prayed. The leaders later addressed a joint news conference to announce the move.
“I will meet the other separatist leaders soon and invite them to join the conglomerate. Unity is the need of the hour,” Mirwaiz said.
Sheikh Abdul Aziz, another senior separatist leader, joined the Mirwaiz faction last week.