If two boxes, India and Pakistan, are placed in front of me, I will vote for Pakistan,” Prof. Abdul Gani Bhat, a separatist leader, had told the media in 2008, while calling himself a die-hard supporter of Pakistan. He is not alone. Pro-Pakistan separatists like Hashim Qureshi also openly support such an ideology. But, ironically people like Qureshi and Bhat, who have defied the government order and public sentiments to dine with Pakistani’s duplicitous diplomats, do not shy away from living life king-size on the taxpayers’ money.

These ‘political activists’, in fact, are receiving a range of privileges from the state government—security cover, guards at home, vehicles, fuel and even secured hotel accommodation, for absolutely free. The government spent Rs 69 crore on salaries for guards to protect the anti-India political activists last year; Rs 40 crore towards paying PSOs; Rs 3.60 crore for hotel accommodation while another Rs 5.18 crore went for fuel to facilitate their travel. These shocking state payments are also extended to many ‘uncategorised’ political activists, whose names are kept in the domain of speculation by the government, citing the issue of sensitive threat perception. In 2013-14 too, the state government spent Rs 107 crore, including approximately Rs 4 crore as hotel bills and Rs 5 crore on petrol and diesel for the pro-separatist activists in the Kashmir Valley.

Rajesh Gupta, a BJP MLA earlier this week, had sought details of the number of political activists as well as the money spent on them by the Omar Abdullah government in the last five years. The MLA from Jammu East constituency told The Sunday Standard that he was surprised to see the details, as huge amounts of money are being spent on them.

Mirwaiz Umer Farooq, chairman of moderate Hurriyat Conference, on March 22 led a seven-member delegation to Delhi to meet Pakistan High Commissioner Abdul Basit. Photographs were clicked, closed-door meetings were held and the ‘political activists’, both from the hard-line and moderate faction of Hurriyat, left the Pak embassy, protected by state security officers in secured vehicles provided by the J&K government. Mirwaiz, who on many occasions issued sermons to boycott elections in the state, is among 1,472 political activists, provided security cover by the Jammu and Kashmir Police. In 2014-15, the government spent over Rs 120 crore on vehicles, hotel bills and security of these activists, which is more than the state’s budget of Rs 100 crore to provide succour to widows and destitute women under welfare schemes and three times more than the Rs 40 crore allocated for integrated child development schemes and the creation of additional 1,000 anganwari centres.

Apart from Mirwaiz, who has never missed a chance to criticise government development proposals in the state, several other pro-Pakistan separatists are also enjoying state’s hospitality and protection. Prof Bhat, Moulvi Abbas Ansari, former Hurriyat chairman Aga Syed Hassan Mousavi and Bilal Ahmed Lone, all executive members of the moderate faction of Hurriyat Conference, are some of the prominent separatists who are getting privileges from the government.