Hurriyat leaders apply for travel across LoC

Leaders of the Hurriyat Conference moderate faction on Monday submitted application forms to travel across the Line of Control to Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in mid-December for relief efforts in the quake-hit areas.

"While 12 moderate leaders will cross the LoC, three others - Chairman Mirwaiz Umer Farooq, executive members Bilal Gani Lone and Fazl Haq Qureshi - will travel by air as they possess valid passports," sources in the amalgam said. The applications were submitted at the Regional Passport Office, Srinagar. Passport officer S L Sriramlu said the office had received the applications, which were being processed.

Sources said the visit was likely to take place in the second week of December as the Mirwaiz was scheduled to attend two Organisation of Islamic Conference meets. On December 6, the Mirwaiz is slated to attend the Organisation of Islamic conferences' conference in Istanbul, followed by another in Saudi Arabia on December 8, they said. The Hurriyat chairman was not available for comment as he is in New Delhi along with Bilal Lone.

The decision to send a 15-member delegation was taken at a joint meeting of its executive committee and general council on November 24. The delegation includes executive members Abdul Gani Bhat (Muslim Conference), Masroor Ansari (Itehad-ul-Muslimeen) and Aga Syed Hassan (Anjuman-e-Sharie Shian). Syed Saleem Geelani, Nayeem Ahmad Khan, Javid Ahmad Mir, Mohammad Yousuf Naqash, Manan Bukhari, Zaffar Akbar Bhat, Mohammad Amin Qureshi, Bashir Ahmad Shawl and Bashir Ahmad Kant are the members from second rung general council.