Mohammad Abbas Ansari
Mohammad Abbas Ansari (Urdu: محمد عباس انصاری) (17 August 1936 – 25 October 2022) was a separatist political leader and a well known Shia Muslim scholar, reformer, preacher and cleric from Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir.On 27 March 1962 Abbas founded the political party "Jammu & Kashmir Ittihadul Muslimeen" (JKIM) with the main object of keeping the various sects of Muslims united.[1] JKIM also works for the political, social and economic welfare of Muslims and demands a UN-supervised plebiscite in Kashmir in accordance with the UN resolutions of 1948 and 1949.The "Holy Relic Action Committee" was formed as a response to that incident and Abbas was named coordinator after the removal of Mirwaiz Farooq.[3] In 1987, the Front accepted the challenge of the chief Minister Farooq Abdullah to fight elections of state assembly to show the world that Kashmiris do not consider themselves to be a part of India.After his release in May 2000, Abbas undertook an overseas tour to present the freedom movement of Kashmir and highlight the atrocities reportedly being perpetrated on Kashmiris.Abbas also gave a comprehensive presentation on Kashmir at the OIC meetings in Casablanca (Morocco) and Doha (Qatar) in December 1994 and November 2000 respectively.Later the government of India impounded his passport to prevent him from traveling abroad to champion the Kashmir cause, so he was not allowed to attend OIC's 10th and 11th summit in Malaysia and Senegal in 2003 and 2008 respectively and other conferences across the globe.[3][8] Soon after taking over as chairman, he called for an immediate ceasefire between the security forces and the militants, saying that "the Kashmir issue is not a border dispute, but a humanitarian problem.[15] During his tenure as Chairman of APHC, Abbas initiated a dialogue process with Indian government on the basis that it should be unconditional, level-based and exclusively centered on Kashmir problem.[17] It was agreed that meeting was the first significant step in the dialogue process and a step-by-step approach would lead to the resolution of all outstanding issues relating to Jammu and Kashmir.During his tenure as APHC Chairman, Abbas advocated the re-opening of the Srinagar-Rawalpindi road so that the people of both parts of Kashmir could meet their kin and help survivors of the 2005 earthquake.