Terrorists threaten to kill Hurriyat leaders over talks with Centre

13 December 2003
The Hindustan Times
Press Trust of India

Srinagar: Two pro-Pakistan terrorist outfits - Jamiat-ul-Mujahideen (JuM) and Dukhtaran-e-Millat (DeM) - on Friday threatened to kill Hurriyat leaders if they began their proposed dialogue with New Delhi without consulting them.JuM's commander-in-chief General Abdullah said that Hurriyat was not representative of Kashmiris.'They should desist from entering into a dialogue with India, without consulting militants, as they are not representatives of Kashmiris,' his statement received by PTI office in Srinagar said.He asked former chairmen Abdul Gani Bhat and Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, besides another Hurriyat leader Bilal Lone, to explain their position as otherwise they should bear in mind the fate met out to leaders like Jamshed Shirazi alias Kuka Parey and Javed Hussain Shah.Parey and Shah were former militants and had joined political parties in the state before being gunned down by militants earlier this year.Terming Hurriyat members as 'mohalla leaders', DeM Chief Ayisa Andrabi - wanted by police in connection with funding of militancy in the state - said that the Hurriyat should bear in mind that if they talk to New Delhi, it would enlist them as traitors.She also said that militants were the actual representatives of Kashmiris, and not the Hurriyat led by Abbas Ansari.Meanwhile, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq was recovering in a hospital at the national Cpaital after undergoing a minor throat operation to remove pus.