Date:23/05/2006 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2006/05/23/stories/2006052318711300.htm

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Hurriyat not to attend round table

Shujaat Bukhari

One killed, 20 injured in grenade attacks in Srinagar

National Conference also issues a threat

Jaish owns responsibility for Monday's grenade attacks

— Photo: Nissar Ahmad

"NO" TO MEET: (From right) Hurriyat leaders Abdul Gani Bhat, Bilal Gani Lone, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Abbas Ansari at the headquarters of the amalgam in Srinagar on Monday.

SRINAGAR: The moderate faction of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference on Monday declared that it would not attend the round table, to be chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh here on May 24 and 25.

Amid this development, one person was killed and four were injured as militants hurled a grenade at a mini-bus in Srinagar. In three similar attacks earlier, 20 people were injured.

Hurriyat Chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, after a meeting of the amalgam's executive, said its decision was unanimous.

Reading out a prepared statement, he said: "The Hurriyat, representing as it does the sentiment of the people as well as the dynamics, is a genuinely relevant political forum. As such, it chooses to seize the opportunity of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit to take forward the process already in place. If the Prime Minister pleases to agree, we will talk to him in Srinagar as well.

"As for participation in the round table, the Hurriyat Conference considers that a crowd comprising political hypocrites and even ikhwanis [former pro-Government militants] with no agenda can hardly produce a result in terms of settlement of the Kashmir problem, which the people of the entire South Asian region so desperately long for. Thus, it has been decided not to attend."

Omar explains stand

National Conference (NC) president Omar Abdullah, referring to the Mirwaiz wish to meet Dr. Singh on the sidelines of the conference, said, "If there are meetings on the sidelines of the round table between the Hurriyat and the Prime Minister, we will not participate in the conference. And I think other like-minded political parties should also abstain from the round table."

Mr. Abdullah said in an interview: "We may seek a meeting with the Prime Minister on the sidelines but there is no point in having one rule for one party and one for another."

Grenade attacks

In grenade attacks at Safakadal, Rainawari and Barbarshah in Srinagar that targeted security forces, 20 people, including 10 police and para-military personnel, were injured. The Jaish-e-Mohammad claimed responsibility for the attacks.

In view of the Prime Minister's visit, the entire Srinagar has come under tight security. The round table venue, Sher-e-Kashmir International Conference Centre, on the banks of the Dal Lake, has been sealed. The area wears a deserted look, with almost all hotels and houseboats unoccupied. Secret cameras are monitoring the movements of people and vehicles.

S.M. Sahai took over as Inspector-General of Police, Kashmir zone, replacing K. Rajendra Kumar, who was seriously injured in Sunday's attack on a Congress rally here.