But the PM’s roundtable conference in the city on Wednesday will go ahead as scheduled
But the PM’s roundtable conference in the city on Wednesday will go ahead as scheduled
SRINAGAR: Three days before Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s second roundtable conference on Kashmir, terrorists carried out a fidayeen (suicide) attack on a Youth Congress rally at the Sher-e-Kashmir park in Srinagar on Sunday, killing seven persons and injuring 21. The two attackers were shot dead in retaliatory action by the security forces.
The dead include two police constables. Among the injured are 12 policemen, including Inspector General of Police (Kashmir range) K Rajendra Kumar, Deputy Superintendent of Police Faisal Ahmad, and Station House Officer Shabir Ahmad.
The Lashkar-e-Taiba and Al-Mansurain have claimed responsibility for the attack, which took place at 1:15pm when top Congress leaders, including state Congress president Peerzada Mohammad Sayeed and Union Minister of State for Rural Development Gurcharan Singh Charak, were on the stage waiting for Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad.
Eyewitnesses said a terrorist in police uniform appeared near the stage and started firing indiscriminately from a Kalashnikov assault rifle.
“We thought he was a policeman firing at militants,” said Javeed Ahmad Qadiri, a Congress worker who was seated in the front row. “When he dropped the second magazine while trying to load it, one of us handed it to him. Only later did we come to know that he was one of the fidayeen.”
“Our priority was to evacuate the civilians,” said Farooq Ahmad, deputy IG, central Kashmir range. “After we completed the evacuation, we engaged the militants and shot them down.”
The attack took place despite militant groups warning of violence if the roundtable conference goes ahead. “We have made all arrangements to disrupt the roundtable conference,” said a statement released by four groups - Al-Nasireen, Save Kashmir Movement, Al-Arifeen and Farzandan-e-Milat - on Sunday. “Kashmir is a disputed territory. The Prime Minster of India cannot hold such conferences here.”
But Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil said the conference would go ahead as scheduled. Intelligence officials said the groups that issued the threat are possibly fronts for bigger organisations such as the Pakistan-based Lashkar and Hizbul Mujahideen.
Weeks ago, intelligence reports had warned of major attacks by terrorist outfits in May, when three high-profile events take place: the shifting of government from Jammu to Srinagar, the Amarnath yatra, and the conference. The reports had particularly warned against suicide attacks.
Inspector General of Police (CRPF) AP Maheshwari said the fidayeen were in police uniform. “They shot at the constable at the gate when he tried to stop them. When one of them started firing inside the venue, the security forces mowed him down. The other militant tried to flee, but he was tracked down on the road and killed.”
Asked about the apparent security lapse, Maheshwari said there was none. “In a fidayeen attack, the advantage always lies with the militants,” he said. “But we acted promptly and killed both of them. We are alert about the presence of more militants in the city.”
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