Mirwaiz aide shot at to 'derail talks'

Suspected militants shot at and critically injured moderate Hurriyat Conference leader Fazal Haq Qureshi to derail the Centre’s quiet dialogue process with separatists. Qureshi, who heads the People’s Political Front (PPF), was an executive member of the moderate Hurriyat Conference and chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq’s close aide.

The Al Nasireen has claimed responsibility for the attack. The attackers shot at Qureshi from close range just as he neared his home from a mosque around 6.30 pm. He was rushed to Sher-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences where his condition is said to be critical. “He is currently being operated on,” Kashmir range IGP Farooq Ahmad said.

Doctors were not sure if he had actually been shot. They could not find an entry an exit wound. But at the same time they said it was difficult for anything other than a bullet to cause the extent of damage to bone and tissue.

Senior Hurriyat leaders rushed to the hospital on hearing of the incident. “We are just confirming what happened,” a visibly shaken Mirwaiz Umar Farooq said.