On February the 1st 1971 all the passengers and crew were sent back to India via Amritsar and the 'Ganga' was set on fire by the Pakistani ISI [6][7][permanent dead link‍].

Maqbool Bhat submitted for this case a statement which is arguably the most detailed reflection of his political ideology, excerpt: "I can say without any hesitation that I have not designed any conspiracy nor have I been a part of any group of conspirers.

If the ruling class of Pakistan that is a product of imperialism and represented by the bureaucracy and military dictatorship of this country views this as conspiracy then I have no hesitation in accepting the charge".

But it took seven years before the appeal was heard at Supreme Court, which was composed of a full bench of three judges, where Hashim Qureshi was eventually also cleared.

After having read Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr., Nelson Mandela and others in jail, Hashim Qureshi, now was convinced that an armed struggle would only damage the Kashmiri cause and advocated a non-violent movement based on the principle of civil disobedience.

JKDLP laid the foundation of Maqbool National Welfare Association (MNWA) in 1994 with the specific aim to assist victims of militancy in Kashmir.

In a place where NGOs have mushroomed by the dozen, MNWA was one of the first ones to be established for dealing with victims of the conflict – widows and orphans from the families of militants, who were not eligible to receive government aid.

The centres taught the women it enrolled, after carefully screening their background, the art of making curtains and cushion covers.

He was immediately arrested at New Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport and was produced before metropolitan magistrate Gulshan Kumar, who remanded him to judicial custody till 11 January 2001.

Hashim Qureshi filed Habeas Corpus, challenging the magistrate's order on the ground that his detention was illegal and that he could not be retried as per the law as he was already sentenced to life by a Pakistan court and had served a prison term for over nine years.

Later on he withdrew his Habeaus Corpus petition in the Delhi High Court and was flown to Srinagar, Jammu & Kashmir on 12 January 2001.

He was also charged with hatching a criminal conspiracy with hanged JKNLF's founder Maqbool Bhat under a section of the Enemy Ordinance Act 3.

Whereas in another case Satnam Singh, who was one of the five Dal Khalsa men who hijacked the Indian Airlines plane on 29 September 1981 was acquitted upon his return from Canada in 2000 of all charges, because he had already been convicted and sentenced in Pakistan [10].

[2] Supporters and well wishers of Mr. Hashim Qureshi have started an online petition campaign on OnlinePetition.com, stressing the Chief Justice of India to look into this matter.

Hashim Qureshi spent a year in Hari Niwas jail in Srinagar and was released on bail in December 2001, because of health issues on the condition that he may not indulge himself in anti-state activities.

He was the only separatist Leader who attended two of the three Round Table Conferences organised by India and chaired by Indian PM, Manmohan Singh.

He has also attended numerous conferences and debates about Kashmir, terrorism, democracy and human rights in the European Parliament in Brussels and at United Nations in Geneva.

Recently while demonstrating against the Amarnath Land Transfer issue and human rights violations in Shopian, he was detained along with his party workers at different police stations in Srinagar.