Naseem Geelani, the son of Syed Ali Shah Geelani former chief of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (G) Chairman, refuted the news reports that the pro-Pakistan secessionist passed away on Wednesday evening, February 12.
Naseem called the rumours of Geelani's death baseless and said that his father is stable. In an interview, son of the senior Hurriyat leader said, "He has turned weak, but his condition is stable."
The ailing leader's health condition is deteriorated for the past six months and he was admitted to SKIMS hospital, recently.
Abdullah Geelani, the official representative of the party, took to his Twitter handle to update about Geelani's health.
Abdullah tweeted, "The leader's health is getting better. This morning heart specialists from SKIMS Soura visited him. The Kashmiri populace is requested to keep him in their prayers and arrange prayer meetings for his good health."
Hurriyat releases 'urgent' statement
In a late-night development, the All Parties Hurriyat Conference released an 'urgent' statement from Muzaffarabad saying that all Imams and people should gather at Eidgah, Srinagar, for the funeral in case of Geelani breaths his last.
In a two-page statement, Hurriyat announced that Geelani (90) has recently expressed his wish to be buried at the Mazar-e-Shuhada, Eidgah, Srinagar.
Hurriyat, which has its office in Muzaffarabad and Islamabad, also appealed to the people of the Valley to be respectful to the leader and join the funeral (in case he is no more).
The written statement said that for the last few days, the chest infection of Geelani was not responding to the ongoing treatment.
"There are rumours in the Valley about Geelani's health condition. Till late at night, nothing adverse has been reported. We are taking stock of the situation," said a senior officer of the Srinagar police.
On the other hand, sources in the government in New Delhi said that Geelani's health condition is serious but stable.
Valley on high alert, internet snapped
Security has been put on high alert after the speculations were rife about the critical health condition of secessionist Syed Ali Shah Geelani's deteriorating health.
The 2G mobile Internet services have been suspended in Kashmir again since Wednesday evening.
The Jammu and Kashmir authorities restored the 2G mobile Internet last month for the first time after the abrogation of Article 370 on August 5. However, the broadband internet service continues to remain suspended.
More about Syed Ali Shah Geelani
Considered as the senior-most Hurriyat leader, Geelani was previously a member of Jamaat-e-Islami Kashmir but later on founded his own party by the name of Tehreek-e-Hurriyat.
He has served as the Chairman of the All Parties Hurriyat (Freedom) Conference, a conglomerate of separatist parties in Jammu and Kashmir.
Geelani became an MLA from Sopore constituency in 1972 and won in the Assembly polls from the same constituency in 1977 and 1987.
