Ultras make abortive bid on Farooq's life

Ultras make abortive bid on Farooq's life
PRESS TRUST OF INDIA

SRINAGAR, JAN 14: Militants today made an abortive attempt on the life of Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah when they fired two rifle grenades at the venue of his function, official sources said.

While one grenade fell into the nearby Jhelum river, the other exploded outside the venue at Habbakadal, they said, adding there was no loss of life.Undeterred by the attack, Abdullah said he would not be cowed down by bullets and bombs and no one could stop him from his objective of restoring peace in the state.

‘‘Farooq na pehlay ghabraya hai na aggey ghabrayenge (Farooq has never feared in the past nor would he fear in the future)’’, Abdullah said.

‘‘I am not the one to be scared away and would take my mission of restoring peace in the state forward, whatever the obstacles are,’’ the Chief Minister said, resuming his address at the meeting.

He rejected the demand for tripartite talks between India, Pakistan and the representatives of the people of the State as demanded by the Hurriyat Conference, saying, ‘‘There is no purpose in tripartite talks and Pakistan would soon realise that it had to hold talks with India alone.’’

After concluding his speech, Abdullah left to offer his condolences to the bereaved family of Mohammad Akbar Wani, a trustee of Muslim Auqaf Trust, who was gunned down by militants on Monday. The Chief Minister later left for Jammu.

The sources said the ultras fired the grenades from Babadem area at around 12.30 pm when the Chief Minister was addressing the gathering after inaugurating a bridge.

The sources said the grenade hit a roof-top and exploded nearly 100 yards away from the venue of the function.

Security forces deployed there fired several shots in the air to scare away the militants.

The function, which was disrupted for a short while, resumed and the Chief Minister concluded his speech.

No militant outfit has claimed responsibility for the attack which came barely 20 hours after Abdullah said police had been ordered to kill militants wherever they were.

‘‘My orders to the police are wherever you find a militant, dispatch him as I do not want to fill jails,’’ he told a meeting in Baramulla. In the past four days, militants had attacked the houses of two Jammu and Kashmir Ministers -- Ali Mohammad Sagar and Mushtaq Ahmad Lone --- in the State. Both of them were not in their houses when the attacks took place.

Meanwhile, a Major and two other armymen were seriously injured in a powerful landmine explosion set off by militants at village Aadora in Baramulla district, last evening.

Major Jitender P Baker, along with his bodyguards, were on a routine patrol when the ultras detonated the landmine, police said, adding the injured were admitted to hospital.

Meanwhile in New Delhi, condemning the abortive attack on the J&K Chief Minister, Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee today said such attacks would not lead to the creation of a conducive atmosphere for peace talks in J&K.

‘‘If militants continue with acts of terrorism, then how will an atmosphere for peace talks be created?,’’ Vajpayee told reporters on his return to the capital from a week-long visit to Vietnam and Indonesia. Replying to questions, he said, ‘‘I am relieved that Abdullah is safe. I complement him.’’

To a question that the army favoured extension of the ceasefire in J&K beyond the Republic Day, the Prime Minister said, ‘‘There is a view that the ceasefire should be further extended.

‘‘All issues will be considered and a final decision on the issue will be taken by the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS),’’ he said.