M A I N   N E W S

Crucial APHC meeting today

SRINAGAR, Jan 19 (UNI) — The executive council of the All-Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC) will meet here tomorrow to decide its future strategy following the Centre’s decision to issue travel documents to a few of its leaders to visit Pakistan.

Hurriyat Chairman Abdul Gani Bhat said today that except for one, all executive council members were in Srinagar and the council would be meeting tomorrow at its Raj Bagh headquarters.

He said Mr Mohammad Yaseen Malik, who was in Delhi, had since returned, while another executive council member, Syed Ali Shah Geelani, who was not well, would send his representative to the meeting.

He said the council members, would discuss the future strategy following Union Home Minister L.K. Advani’s statement that only eligible Hurriyat leaders would be given passports to travel to Pakistan.

Hurriyat Conference Chairman Prof Abdul Gani Bhat has nominated a five-member delegation — two former Chairmen Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Moulvi Omar Farooq, Abdul Gani Lone, Moulvi Abbas Ansari and Sheikh Abdul Aziz — to visit Pakistan for talks with leaders of various militant organisations and the military government there.

Prof Bhat said there was no question of any change in the delegation constituted by him on January 11 for the visit.

“Why should we change any member of the delegation when we have constituted it after taking into consideration the interests of the people of Jammu and Kashmir,’’ he asked. “The selection of the delegation was our own and there is no question of taking dictates from anybody.

“Why should India tell us who among our executive council members should visit Pakistan,’’

Asked to comment on the Indian Government’s stand that it would not issue travel documents to some leaders, Prof Bhat said it is for them to decide, but the peace initiative would receive a “severe jolt”.

NEW DELHI (UNI): All-Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC) Chairman Abdul Gani Bhat has asked Union Home Minister L.K. Advani to soften his stand on issuing passports to its leaders and allow them to visit Pakistan.

Speaking to BBC (Urdu) last night, Mr Bhat reiterated that there should be no pressure from the Centre regarding the selection of a Hurriyat Conference team for Pakistan to hold talks with the leaders of militant outfits and the military government.

The delegation had originally planned to leave for Islamabad on January 15 but postponed its programme as most of the team members did not have the travel documents.

Mr Bhat said the Hurriyat executive could consider a replacement if the member himself opted to stay back for personal reasons.

About Mr Abdul Gani Lone’s reported “unwillingness” to go to Pakistan, he said all members were bound by the executive’s decision.

Earlier, Mr Bhat had said in case the Centre did not issue passports to all its members, the executive would decide whether to cancel the visit or replace the members who were not given the travel documents. However, he was confident that the passports would be issued within a week.

1 killed, tragedy averted in valley

SRINAGAR, Jan 19 (UNI) — At least one person was killed and eleven others, including two policemen, were injured when a grenade hurled by militants exploded at the historic Lal Chowk near here this afternoon.

Elsewhere in the valley, militants attacked a security force camp with rifle-propelled grenades while the forces averted a tragedy.

Militants threw a hand-grenade at a stranded vehicle of the Border Security Force at the busy Lal Chowk around 2.45 p.m., but the grenade missed the target and exploded on the roadside, injuring 12 persons.

However, the security men posted in the nearby bunkers did not retaliate. The injured were later shifted to hospital where one died.

Civilians fell on the ground when the grenade exploded.

Official sources said a bomb exploded at Sadarbal, half a km from Kashmir University last evening, without causing any damage.