New Delhi, Nov 16: Peoples Conference chairman Sajjad Lone has alleged that ''there is a covert unholy alliance'' between Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed and Hurriyat (breakaway) chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani.

''Geelani's closest associates facilitated the victory of Mufti Mohammad Sayeed in the last year's state assembly elections. I am convinced that there is a covert unholy alliance between Sayeed and,'' Lone told Pakistan's The Friday Times in an interview.
''Geelani is no sacred cow as depicted by the media in Pakistan. He is as dear to Kashmiris as Qazi Hussain Ahmed is to the Pakistanis,'' he added.
About Geelani's accusations that the peoples conference had fielded proxy candidates in the last year's elections, Lone said, ''Geelani's accusations against me are an extension of the vicious politics he played with my father, Abdul Gani Lone. He created a vicious environment by issuing similar statements against my father, which culminated in his assassination. He is in the process of recreating the same environment.''
The Peoples Conference leader said he is not against the concept of elections. ''But there is a need to fight the Indian viewpoint that elections are a substitute for plebiscite. The truth is they are not. The elections are meant to elect people who will provide an administrative team to run the state,'' he added.
About the murder of his father, Lone said, ''at the spur of the moment I did accuse the ISI. But I do not have any proof to substantiate my accusation. However, neither the ISI nor RAW is sacred. I have stayed in Pakistan and have a lot of Pakistani friends. I have nothing but contempt for all the covert agencies, especially in south Asia. They have done the most to harm their own people who they claim to defend or represent.''
He described Geelani as a ''party-less wonder'' claiming to head a coalition of parties called the Hurriyat.
''Let Geelani name the party he represents. He is a party-less wonder claiming to head a coalition of parties called Hurriyat. There is no doubt in my mind that Abbas Ansari is the chairman of the Hurriyat Conference,'' Lone told the newspaper.
Bureau Report