Abdul Ghani Lone

Abdul Gani Lone ( ; 6 May 1932 – 21 May 2002) was an Indian political leader.

Life Lone was born in Dard Harie in the Kralpora tehsil of the Kupwara district of the princely state of Kashmir and Jammu in British India into a Kashmiri Muslim family. He earned a law degree from Aligarh Muslim University in 1957.

His sons Bilal Lone and Sajjad Lone are Kashmiri politicians. Sajjad Lone was a member of the Legislative Assembly. His daughter Shabnam Gani Lone is a lawyer at the Supreme Court of India, while his eldest daughter Safiya Lone, a teacher by profession, died on 22 October 2017.

Career

He made his entry into politics serving in the state assembly as a Congress candidate in 1967. In 1978, he formed a Kashmiri separatist organization called People's Conference dedicated to "the restoration of 'internal autonomy' in Kashmir." Electoral performance

Death

Lone and his guards were gunned down by two young assassins before they threw grenades and escaped on 21 May 2002 while commemorating the twelfth death anniversary of Kashmiri leader, Mirwaiz Maulvi Farooq. Eyewitnesses said that earlier in the day a group of youths arrived at the Idgah, shouting pro-Pakistan slogans, and two of them fired on Lone.

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah said "Pakistan wants Kashmir and so is desperate in its action, which this killing has proved." The then Prime Minister of India, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, said, "Mr. Lone was assassinated because he was working for peace in Jammu and Kashmir."

The United States condemned the assassination, with Secretary of State Colin Powell issuing a statement, calling Lone a moderate who sought a peaceful resolution of the Kashmir issue.