Srinagar, April 22
Reiterating his stand on the right to self-determination, Hurriyat Conference leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani today asserted that "any agreement between India and Pakistan on Kashmir" against the wishes of its people would not be acceptable.

He said an emphatic "no" to many propositions like the Indo-Pak agreement, self-governance, internal autonomy, soft borders, status quo and participation in any elections minus the resolution of the Kashmir issue.

"The issue of Jammu and Kashmir is at a very crucial stage as India and Pakistan have agreed on some solution, which may be signed soon", Geelani said at a public meeting on his return at the sprawling Eidgah here.

He said he had also been informed about it by the renowned advocate and Kashmir Committee leader Ram Jethmalani during their recent meeting in Delhi.

Geelani, who returned after over two months following treatment on his kidney in a Mumbai hospital last month, was addressing a mammoth public meeting on his arrival. Prominent among those who attended the meeting were Mirwaiz Moulvi Mohammad Farooq and Abdul Ghani Lone.

He demanded a "complete withdrawal" of troops from Jammu and Kashmir that would only lead to peace in the region. After the withdrawal, the people of entire Jammu and Kashmir should be given the "right to self-determination", he said.

Referring to the third roundtable conference being convened by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in New Delhi on Tuesday, Geelani announced his non-participation. He held that it was a futile exercise. He said he had received the invitation on Wednesday last to attend the conference in Delhi. Only yesterday, there was another telegraphic invitation to join the dinner on the eve of the roundtable conference, he said.

Taking a dig at the moderate faction of Hurriyat Conference, led by Mirwaiz Omar Farooq, the leader said there were "some leaders" who had been participating in such talks with the Central Government, but there were no results.

Jammu, April 22
The shrine board, after receiving inputs about the upswing in the militancy-related violence from intelligence and security agencies, has asked those NGOs and voluntary organisations,which plan to establish free community kitchens at the Amarnath cave, to furnish details about the antecedents of sewadars to be appointed for these kitchens.

The board, headed by Governor S.K. Sinha, that regulates the annual yatra beginning June 30, has asked those running such kitchens to furnish security clearance certificates from the police stations of their respective areas for each sewadar for enabling it to prepare their identity cards.

A board official said here today that these steps were being taken to prevent any criminal or militants from sneaking into the yatra route in guise of sewadars. The board has also directed the voluntary organisations to avoid the sale of dry provisions, including rice, wheat atta, ghee, edible oil and sugar to the pilgrims. They have been asked to donate leftover of such provisions to the board, after the yatra ends, so that it could distribute these items among destitute and in old age homes. 

Jammu, April 22
Leaders of various Sikh organisations in Jammu and Kashmir have expressed "grave concern" over the way the Government of India has not invited any leader of refugees of PoK, now settled in Jammu,to the third roundtable conference being held in Delhi on April 24.

In a resolution adopted at a meeting here yesterday,which was presided over by Mohinder Singh,chief organiser,Bhai Kanaya Nishkam Sewa Society,Sikh leaders urged Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad to intervene so that representatives of refugees from the PoK were invited to the conference.

The resolution said:"Since we too are connected with the Kashmir issue,our participation in any dialogue is important and necessary.”

The meeting,which was also attended by Narbir Singh,president,Shiromani Youth Akali Dal,Paramjit Singh,president,AISSF,Balbir Singh,general secretary, state Akali Dal,Gajan Singh,chairman, Sikh Sangat, and Manmohan Singh,chairman,Gole Gujral,while expressing resentment over the inordinate delay on the part of the state and the central governments in settling their claims and taking in measures for their suitable rehabilitation demanded that the report on the refugees presented by the N.N.Vohra Committee be implemented.

The Sikh leaders appreciated work done by Vohra in completing a detailed report on "our problems." They also demanded that the verdict of the state High Court and the Supreme court on the resettlement of the refugees be implemented soon.

Udhampur, April 22
Three Hizbul Mujahideen militants died under mysterious circumstances in the Kither area of Doda district under the jurisdiction of the Gandoh police station. Badly mutilated bodies of the three local militants, Abdul Qayoom, Mohammed Shabbir, and Sajad Ahmed, were found today.

While a few senior police officers said the militants, who were trapped by the security forces for the past three days, were killed in an avalanche, locals said they were thrown from hill by their rival group of the Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT).

For the quite some time LeT outfit, dominated by foreigner mercenaries, have been trying to gain ground in the Gandoh area where local militants especially of the Hizb have out numbered them.

Initial reports said a police party had been chasing a group of militants, which had managed to sneak into the Gandoh area. Doda SSP Manmohar Singh said the bodies of these militants were found near Kither today morning. About two days ago, a Hizb militant was killed LeT militants in the same area. Locals believe that these militants were also killed in the clash and their bodies thrown from top of the hill by LeT militants.