Ghulam Ahmad Ahrar

Ahrar was born in Shopian district of Jammu and Kashmir, British India.^[2] He obtained his religious studies in Punjab, where he enrolled at Madarsa Nusratul Islam in Amritsar.^[1] During his time there, he was elected the first president of the institution's Jamiat Talaba (students' union). While studying, he came into contact with several noted South Asian Muslim leaders, including Ataullah Shah Bukhari, Chaudhary Fazle Haq, Allama Muhammad Iqbal, and Maulana Habibur Rahman Ludhianvi.^[1]

Ahrar was involved in Jamaat-e-Islami since 1942 after he organized a religious gathering (ijtema) at Badami Bagh in Shopian in 1942, which is regarded as one of the earliest such events in the region and predates the first all-India ijtima of Jamaat-e-Islami Hind held at Pathankot in 1945.^[3] Later in 1946 he along with other members established Jamaat-e-Islami Jammu and Kashmir. In 1958, he was tasked with organizing the party's network in the Jammu region. Over a period of nearly two years, he traveled to districts including Jammu, Rajouri, Poonch, Dooda, and Udhampur district to set up local branches and recruit members.^[1]

In the 1970s, Ahrar served as district president of Islamabad (now known as Anantnag district), which at the time also included the areas of present-day Pulwama, Shopian, and Kulgam. He was later assigned to Pulwama.^[4]

In November 1998, Ahrar appeared alongside other activists of Jamaat-e-Islami, including Hakeem Ghulam Nabi and Sheikh Ghulam Hassan, when Ghulam Mohammad Bhat, one of founders of the Muslim United Front, publicly called for the organisation to function within the constitution of India.^[5]

Ahrar died on 25 August 2004 in Srinagar after a prolonged illness.^[1]