The execution of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru has squeezed the political space for engaging New Delhi in a dialogue, feels Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, chairman of the moderate faction of the Hurriyat Conference.
“The hanging of Guru has tanked any chance to enter into a dialogue with New Delhi,” said the Mirwaiz.

He had been put under house arrest since February 9 at his Delhi residence, but would be flying back to Kashmir on Thursday as security was lifted on Tuesday evening.

“We have been trying to popularise dialogue as an institution for over a decade now, but Guru’s hanging has sealed all the prospects. There is no hope left,” he said.

The Mirwaiz equated Guru hanging to “waging war against the people of Jammu and Kashmir”.

“Guru's hanging has triggered a wide spread hatred among people, as witnessed after Maqbool Bhat’s hanging in 1984. Another armed struggle is a possibility now,” said Mirwaiz.

In the possibility of a new armed struggle, the moderate Hurriyat faction led by the Mirwaiz, sees its politics of engagement taking a backseat.

“The new forces may not listen to us. We too may be rendered irrelevant,” he added.

In the wake of Guru’s hanging, the Valley has been charged with an anti- India atmosphere and has helped the hardline faction of the Hurriyat Conference, chaired by Syed Ali Shah Geelani, who is already steering the agitation in Kashmir.