Srinagar: The year-long separatist unity has come under strain in Kashmir following the rejection of the azadi option by Pakistan and some pro-Pakistan hardliners in the Valley.

Three top separatist leaders - Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Mohammad Yasin Malik - came together under the banner of the Joint Resistance Leadership during the unrest in 2016 following the death of Hizb commander Burhan Wani.

The three chose to put their differences aside and joined forces, posing a major challenge for the security establishment. A year down the line, tension is brewing in the ranks of the separatists.

The trigger for the acrimony was Pakistan Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi's rejection of the option of an "independent Kashmir" on the ground that it was not realistic.

"There is no support for the demand for an independent Kashmir," he was quoted as telling the Future of Pakistan 2017 Conferenceat the South Asia Centre of the London School of Economics on November 4. "The people of Kashmir should be given the right to self-determination," Abbasi added.

Of the three separatist leaders, Geelani is known for his pro-Pakistan stand. Farooq has traditionally supported the possibility of Kashmir's accession with Pakistan but seems accommodative of the azadi option too. Malik, on the other hand, is devoted to azadi, or an independent Kashmir.

Sources said the Pakistan Prime Minister's statement had angered Malik's Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF), which felt the remarks were unnecessary at this juncture.

Malik said Pakistan should stop issuing controversial statements that "cause confusion in the rank and file of Kashmiris" and urged Abbasi to "highlight the miseries of the Kashmiri people".

The dust was yet to settle when Geelani and his possible successor Ashraf Sehrai ruffled more feathers in the pro- azadi camp on Thursday by calling Kashmir a "natural part of Pakistan" in the presence of Malik.

Geelani had organised a programme at his residence on the birth anniversary of poet Muhammad Iqbal and Malik was part of the gathering.

The Hurriyat hawk batted for Pakistan, saying an undivided Jammu and Kashmir has a Muslim population of 85 per cent and so it should go to Pakistan.

Sehrai went a step further, saying India and Pakistan were the only two options available to Kashmiris under UN resolutions.

JKLF sources said Kashmiris had made unprecedented sacrifices for azadi and it would always be an option. "We have come together for the sake of unity but that does not mean we will give up our sacred goal," a JKLF leader said.

Javed Mir, who heads a JKLF faction, said the front was of the firm belief that the resolution of the Kashmir issue lay in an "independent Kashmir".

"We will continue to represent the people of Kashmir on these lines," he said.