Senior Hurriyat Conference (M) leader Bilal Gani Lone Wednesday changed the name of his party from Peoples Conference to Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Independent Movement (JKPIM), stating the move was aimed at avoiding confusion among masses and to carry forward his late father's "real legacy".
He announced the name of his party during a delegates' session at the Hurriyat Conference (M) headquarters at Rajbagh here. Bilal said he was close to his father Abdul Gani Lone and to carry forward his father's legacy in its true form, it had become inevitable to change the name of his party.
He said the structure of his party will remain the same and only the name has been changed.
Bilal said that Peoples Conference chairman Sajad Lone was his brother and "he will remain so."
"We belong to same parents. He is my brother and he will remain so. But his ideology is different from the one I have. It was after months of deep reflection I zeroed in on a new name for my party. After taking feedback from my workers, I decided to announce the new name of my party at the Hurriyat Conference stage."
"My party will remain as the constituent of the Hurriyat led by Mirwaiz. My father sacrificed his life for the mission being pursued by the Hurriyat and I will follow into the footsteps of my father," Bilal said.
"I am in the amalgam headed by younger brother (Mirwaiz) and where there is a member who is just like my father (professor Abdul Gani Bhat)."
Bilal said that his heart breaks when "young boys get killed in gunfights."
"I wish this bloodshed stops. I will double the efforts for the goal of right to self-determination for which people of Kashmir have offered priceless sacrifices," he said.
Bilal said that Kashmir is an issue between India and Pakistan but it can't be resolved without the active participation of the people of Kashmir.
"Kashmir first and Kashmiris first is what I believe," he said.
Speaking on the occasion, Prof Bhat said that Kashmiri people have been sacrificing their "today for a better tomorrow and time is not far when the dawn of freedom will rise and enlighten the entire region".
He said the Hurriyat was representing a great thought and ideology and Kashmiris aren't worried for themselves only but others also.
"War between India and Pakistan wasn't possible and time is not far when both nations will have to resolve the Kashmir issue," he said. He wished Bilal good luck and welcomed his step of changing the party's name.
In his presidential address, chairman Hurriyat Conference (M) Mirwaiz Umar Farooq also welcomed Bilal's decision and stated that "with new vigour and zeal, Bilal will strengthen the Hurriyat on various fronts".
