Hurriyat leader Syed Salim Geelani joins PDP

Srinagar: Separatist leader and Hurriyat member Syed Salim Geelani on Sunday joined the People's Democratic Party here.

Geelani joined the PDP in presence of party president Mehbooba Mufti at party office here.

"PDP is a party which talks about democratic rights, human rights and political rights of people. It talks about political solution to Kashmir problem ... So I felt it is the right party to join," Geelani told reporters after his joining.

He also said the Kashmir issue can only be resolved politically. "Gun cannot be a solution. This is the only way to save lives that are being lost to violence." Geelani, once a close aide of jailed separatist leader Shabir Ahmad Shah, was a general council member of the Hurriyat Conference, led by Mirwaiz Umar Farooq.

Welcoming Geelani, Mufti said it was good that the former separatist leader wants peaceful resolution of the Kashmir problem.

"We requested Geelani to contest the elections on a PDP ticket but he has expressed inability to do so. He said someone else should get a chance to contest," she added.

Former Congress leader Altaf Ahmad Malik was among several other leaders to join the PDP.

On the other hand, National Conference leader Babu Jagjiwan Lal and former PDP chief spokesperson Suhail Bukhari on Sunday joined Congress.

JKPCC chief Tariq Hameed Karra welcomed both the leaders into the party's fold.

On Saturday, two former MLAs and a rights activist -- Mumtaz Khan (Gulabgarh) and Abdul Rahim Rather (Konernag), and Irfan Hafeez Lone -- also joined the Congress.