SRINAGAR: The chairman of the hardline faction of the Hurriyat Conference, Syed Ali Shah Geelani, on Monday expressed grief over the loss of lives in the Uri militant attack.

Commenting on the death of 18 soldiers in the attack on an army base camp in Uri, Geelani said, “We as human beings feel pain and with sincere heart believe to promote universal brotherhood. We never derive pleasure from human sufferings, and the forces personnel that lost their lives were humans.” This is perhaps the first time that Geelani, a doggedly proPakistan hawk among the separatists, has mourned the killing of security personnel in Kashmir.

At the same time, he slammed politicians for creating a warlike situation. Geelani also flayed the media for “adding fuel to an already volatile situation”. Taking a dig at “local stooges”, he said in a bid to gain favours from their masters, they blamed Pakistan without assigning any logic.