Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India but Pakistan, after having illegally occupied parts of the state, considers it to be a disputed territory purely because it's a Muslim majority state.
So far, India and Pakistan have fought three wars over Kashmir, including the Indo-Pakistani Wars of 1947, 1965 and 1999.
There are certain groups that are sympathetic to Pakistan's stand on Kashmir. These groups are headed by separatists who are known to receive huge funds from Pakistan for challenging Jammu and Kashmir's accession to India.
Some of them openly advocate Kashmir's merger with Pakistan while some others advocate plebiscite for the people of J&K.
India TV brings you the list of 6 separatist leaders with their respective position on the issue:
Syed Ali Shah Geelani
Syed Ali Shah Geelani was previously a member of Jamaat-e-Islami Kashmir but later on founded his own party in the name of Tehreek-e-Hurriyat.
Geelani, in general, has taken the position that Kashmir must have the right of self-determination, but specifically advocates the position of union with Pakistan.
He has served as the chairman of All Parties Hurriyat Conference, a conglomerate of separatist parties in Jammu and Kashmir.
He also represented Sopore constituency in Jammu and Kashmir Assembly thrice - 1972,1977 and 1987).
Masrat Alam
Masarat Alam Bhat is a Kashmiri separatist and supporter of Syed Ali Shah Geelani.
He played a significant role in the 2010 Kashmir stone pelting rallies which broke out against the Machil encounter carried out by the Indian army in Kashmir.
Masarat Alam is supporting 2008 Mumbai Attacks mastermind Hafiz Saeed. Alam, who responded by raising a series of anti-India and pro-Pakistan slogans, including those favouring militants like Hizbul Mujahideen chief Syed Salahuddin.
His position on Kashmir is that it should become a part of Pakistan.
Asiya Andrabi
Asiya Andrabi is the founding leader of Dukhtaran-e-Millat.
This Islamic group is part of the separatist All Parties Hurriyat Conference in the Kashmir valley and support the union of Kashmir with Pakistan.
The main aim of the organisation is to work for separation of Kashmir from India.
Asiya is best known for supporting Masarat Alam in 2010 stone-pelting rallies across Kashmir by using her village network of Dukhtaran-e-Millat operatives for rally support.
Asiya has been criticised for inciting Kashmiri youth for Jihad and freedom fight against India.
Her own son is studying in Malaysia on an Indian passport.
Mirwaiz Umar Farooq
He is a hereditary Kashmiri separatist leader.
At the age of 17, following the assassination of his father by unknown gunmen, Mirwaiz Maulvi Farooq, the leader of Awami Action Committee, Umar Farooq united 23 Kashmiri pro-Pakistan organizations into the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC).
He has constantly tried to raise much awareness about the Kashmir issue internationally.
In October 2014, he was listed as one of The 500 Most Influential Muslims in world by Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre, Jordan.
Farooq is also seen as the spiritual leader of Kashmir's Muslims.
He was also shown among the Asian Heroes by the Times magazine.
He also holds a PhD. in Islamic Studies from Kashmir University.
He maintains that dialogue must take place with India and Pakistan, so long as the Kashmiri aspirations are heard as well.
Yasin Malik
Yasin Malik advocates separation of Kashmir from India as well as from Pakistan.
He serves as the Chairman of Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF).
He has admitted to have killed a group of unarmed Indian Air Force men while they were waiting for their transportation to arrive in period of 1989-1994.
He later surrendered and since 1995, he has renounced violence and calls for strictly peaceful methods to come to a settlement on the issue.
In February 2013, he shared dias with 26/11 attacks mastermind Hafiz Saeed in Islamabad � a move condemned by several Muslim bodies.
Shabir Ahmad Shah
Shabir Ahmad Shah is the founder and president of the Jammu and Kashmir Democratic Freedom Party (JKDFP).
He seeks right of self-determination to Jammu and Kashmir.
Shabir was jailed for the first time in 1968, when he was 14-year-old. He was imprisoned for organizing and leading a student demonstration to press the demand for the right of self-determination for the people of Kashmir.
