Srinagar, January 12
Three persons, including a militant and an Army guide, were killed in Kashmir valley overnight during separate militancy-related incidents.

Sources said security forces gunned down a militant during an encounter at Laser village in the Dangiwachi area of north Kashmir district of Baramula late last night.

The encounter ensued after a search party was attacked by the militants with automatic weapons, the sources said.

An AK rifle, three magazines and a pouch were seized from the site.

The police today recovered an unidentified body from a nullah in the Ashmuqam area of south Kashmir, they added.

A defence spokesman said troops of 3rd Rashtriya Rifles received a tip-off that some militants were hiding at Jaibal village in Anantnag district of south Kashmir late last night.

Troops immediately rushed to the area along with a civil guide, and conducted a search operation.

During the operation the militants attacked the search party with automatic weapons, which was retaliated resulting in an encounter that continued till this morning.

However, he said the militants managed to escape taking advantage of dense forest. During search in the area, troops found the body of the civil guide, the spokesman said.

However, it was learnt that the death was caused due to cardiac arrest, he said. — UNI

Jammu, January 12
Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad did the spade work to break ice on the issue of involving non-Hurriyat parties in the dialogue on the Kashmir issue as a result of which the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has invited Peoples Conference chief, Sajjad Lone for talks on Saturday.

This is for the first time that any non-Hurriyat leader has been invited by the Congress-led UPA government for talks on the Kashmir issue.

The decision to invite Mr Lone, who enjoys considerable following in certain parts of the valley, was reportedly taken by the Prime Minister following detailed talks with Mr Azad during his recent visit to Delhi.

Mr Azad also had a two hour-long meeting with Mr N.N. Vohra, centre’s interlocutor on Kashmir. During his recent visits here, Mr Vohra had discussions with a cross-section of society and political parties.

There were indications that the Prime Minister might invite Mr Shabir Shah of the Democratic Freedom Party and Mr Yasin Malik of the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF). Other parties, including the BJP and the Ladakh Union Territory Front (LUTF) have also been demanding that they should also be included in the talks as the Hurriyat did not represent aspirations of all areas of the state.

The invitation to Mr Lone, whose other brother Bilal Lone was in the Hurriyat, indicates that the Prime Minister has opened his doors for other shades and opinions too. The invitation to Mr Sajjad Lone has come at a time when his other brother returned to Kashmir after visiting Islamabad along with a delegation of the Hurriyat that met President Pervez Musharraf.

There was pressure on the Prime Minister that he should also talk to other parties instead of discussing the issue with only the Hurriyat that has at times been accused of acting like a mouthpiece of Islamabad.

Mr Azad said that he had asked Dr Manmohan Singh to involve all sections in the dialogue process.

Mr Vohra has already held talks with the elected representatives in the state. He toured all three regions, including Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh in the process.