Sajjad Lone

Sajjad Gani Lone is a Kashmiri separatist, who favors the independence of the Kashmir valley from India. He is the youngest son of late Hurriyat leader Abdul Ghani Lone, who was killed by unknown gunmen in a rally in Srinagar. After the shocking death of his father , Sajjad joined the politics and became the chairman of People's Conference. He has been seen as a moderate separtist politician in the Kahsmir valley and close to New Delhi. He is married to Asma Khan, daughter of JKLF founder Amanuallah Khan and has two children Emad and Adnan. Sajjad is a western educated economics graduate and a passionate advocate of the Kashmiri cause. His articulation in TV debates is among his strong points. He is supposed to be particularly strong in North Kashmir and a significant section of the youth like this young leader. The Islamists like Syed Ali Shah Geelani explicitly show disdain for sajjad and hold him responsible for splitting the Hurriyat conference in 2002, a charge that Sajad denies. Sajad is also the author of a his party's vision document titled "Achievable Nationhood", which is seen as a pioneering effort in finding out of box solutions for the Kashmir conflict.