Mohammad Ashraf Sehrai, chairman of Tehreek-e-Hurriyat and a lifetime aide of Syed Ali Geelani, died at a hospital in Jammu where he was in detention for the past year. He was 77.
Sehrai, who was lodged at Kot Balwal Jail since July 2020, was admitted at Government Medical College (GMC) Jammu after his health deteriorated earlier this week. He was facing detention under the Public Safety Act.
Anshul Garg, Deputy Commissioner Jammu, told TKW that Sehrai died at the hospital and his team will facilitate the body’s transfer to Srinagar. “My SOP committee is looking after it (the transfer of Sehrai’s body), we will facilitate it in the best possible way,” Garg said.
The police had yesterday informed Sehrai’s family in Srinagar about the deterioration in his health condition and told them to reach GMC Jammu where the Tehreek-e-Hurriyat chairman was admitted.
Sehrai was a lifetime aide of Geelani and their association dated back to six decades.
Sehrai was once tipped to be the successor of Geelani but the transition never took place. He was elected as the chairman of Tehreek-e-Hurriyat, a constituent of All Parties Hurriyat Conference, which was previously headed by Syed Ali Shah Geelani.
He was part of the Jamaat-e-Islami for a major part of his life before he left the organisation and followed Geelani’s footstep to become a part of Tehreek-e-Hurriyat.
Sehrai’s younger son, Junaid Khan, was a militant associated with Hizbul Mujahideen and was killed in a gunfight in Srinagar in 2020.( Inputs from The Kashmir Walla)
