When the British left the subcontinent in 1947, they left the decision about accession of the Princely States including Jammu and Kashmir to accede to either Pakistan or India on the rulers of these States with the understanding that their choice should take into account factors such as geographic contiguity and demographic composition of the State.
The Indian Congress Party was of opinion that people and not the rulers of the Princely States had the right to decide about accession to either country. On the basis of this argument, India absorbed those States by force whose Muslim rulers either wanted independence such as Hyderabad or to join Pakistan as in the case of Junagarh. However, in case of Kashmir, India violated the above rule and through collusion with Hindu Maharaja, arranged so-called accession of Kashmir with India. This was not acceptable to Kashmiri people as well as Pakistan resulting in a rebellion against Maharaja’s decision. With the support of tribal brethren, people of now AJ&K liberated some territory resulting in Pakistan-India War of 1947/48. India took the matter to United Nations Security Council which passed resolutions that final status of Kashmir be decided through a plebiscite giving Kashmiris right to self-determination. However, India never allowed this and later began declaring Kashmir as its integral part.
In 1989 after massive rigging in Lok Sabha elections, Kashmiris began an armed struggle against Indian occupation of their land. This resulted into a Kashmir freedom movement. Young, educated men full of idealistic passion, led a bloody insurgency against Indian rule. The liberators won support among many Kashmiris for resisting the might of the Indian security forces. Within months, Hindu community on prompting by the then Governor Sexena left Srinagar.
In order to coordinate political activities and provide a forum for unified command, a political forum named “Tehreek-e-Hurriyat-e-Kashmir” was formed by 13 political parties in 1990. However, before the forum could perform any meaningful role, most of its leadership was arrested. Tehreek-e-Hurriyat J&K was not able to exert much influence on the politics of Kashmir. This was when in 1993, Hurriyat Conference was formed. Mir Waiz Moulvi Umar Farooq, then, Chairman of J&K Awami Action Committee became its founding chairman.
On 10 March 1993, All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) was formed a political front as an alliance of 26 leading political, social and religious organizations in Kashmir. It was created to promote the cause of Kashmiri to rid of Indian occupation. It succeeded Tehreek-e-Hurriyat-e-Kashmir which was headed by advocate Mian Abdul Qayyum. At that time its Executive Council consisting of seven members namely Mir Waiz Umar Farooq (Chairman Awami Action Committee), Maulana Abbas Ansari (Chairman Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen), Professor Abdul Ghani Bhat (Chairman Muslim Conference), Late Abdul Ghani Lone (Chairman Peoples Conference), Late Sheikh Abdul Aziz, Chairman Peoples League), Yasin Malik (Chairman Jammu & Kashmir Liberation Front) and Syed Ali Shah Gilani (Chairman Jamaat-e-Islami).
Since inception, it has promoted the political cause of Kashmiri people and in the process. APHC provided an alternative forum to the people of Kashmir, which not only curtailed Sheikh Abdullah’s National Conference’s political influence but also forced Indian Governments to take into account the collective voice of Kashmiri people from this platform. APHC believes Jammu and Kashmir is a disputed territory and India’s political and military control is unjustified. It believes that Kashmir is the unfinished agenda of the partition and needs to be solved as per the aspirations of the people of Jammu and Kashmir. The APHC enjoys an observer’s status in the Organization of Islamic Countries (OIC).