But this does not stop his critics to present his politics as fundamentalist, Islamist and somewhat frightful. They say that he paved way for staunch anti-India ideologue Ashiq Hussain Faktoo alias Muhammad Qasim, convicted in the murder of human rights activist Hriday Nath Wanchoo and serving life sentence, to become Muslim League’s Chairman. Faktoo is husband of jailed Aasiya Andrabi, the chief of Dukhtaran-e-Millat. “He (Masarat) always quotes Quranic verses and wants establishment of Islamic rule,” said a prominent Indian columnist while comparing him with Punjab’s Jarnail Singh Bindrawala.
Whether Masarat is destined to play any role in future politics of Kashmir is a difficult question. But, there is no denying the fact that he gave the amorphous public uprising in 2010 some sort of direction.
