vIndianz.com (Dec. 05, 2009) — Senior separatist Hurriyat Conference leader Fazal Haque Qureshi, who was shot outside his house in Srinagar by anonymous gunmen on Friday, is stable however not out of danger, a relative of his said on Saturday. A shutdown to disapprove the assault, in the meantime, affected life in the city.
Qureshi underwent a four-hour long procedure in the Sher-e-Kashmir Medical Institute Soura and is currently on a ventilator for respiratory support.
“His operation was conducted previous night which sustained till 2330 hrs IST and the doctors said he is stable but critical,” Tariq Andrabi, a close relative, told IANS.
Qureshi is in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the hospital under stiff security and no one is permitted to meet him apart from his close relatives, Andrabi said.
Doctors had on Friday said a bullet has pierced his head. Qureshi, a senior leader of the moderate Hurriyat group headed by Mirwaiz Umer Farooq, is said to be one of the most vocal supporters of the dialogue development to resolve the Kashmir issue.
He was shot and seriously injured outside his Soura house on Friday evening when he was leaving for prayers at a mosque. Four men shot him from close range. Al-Nasreen, a little-known guerrilla group, had late on Friday called some local media offices and owned accountability for the attack.
The attack is seen as a challenge to disrupt the “quiet dialogue” apparently going on between the Union Government and the separatist leaders of Kashmir. The moderate Hurriyat group headed by the Mirwaiz called a blackout on Saturday to dissent the assault on Qureshi.
Traffic and businesses were affected in Srinagar owing to the strike while government offices, banks and educational institutions remained closed on account of a public holiday on the birth anniversary of the regional National Conference (NC) founder, Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah.
Reacting harshly to the attack on Qureshi, the Mirwaiz had on Friday termed it an act of weakness and said the moderate Hurriyat would not be discouraged by it.
“There are certain rudiments within Kashmir who do not wish for a lasting resolution to the problem. They want to maintain the ambiguity so that their vested interests are sheltered.
“We have vowed to stand by the sacrifices of the martyrs and work for a nonviolent solution to the Kashmir trouble by discussion to both Pakistan and India,” Mirwaiz told reporters outside the hospital where Qureshi is being treated.
Further Reading- Sincere efforts needed to resolve Kashmir:Mirwaiz – IBNLive.com
- Resolution of K-issue must: Hurriyat (M) – Punjab Newsline
- Hardline separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani under house arrest – Economic Times
- Curfew in sensitive areas of Srinagar on Muharram – Oneindia
- ‘Solution to Kashmir issue soon’ – Hindustan Times
- Dialogue with Kashmir separatists: Parties to form panel – Times of India
- Hurriyat leader Geelani slams India’s bid for UNSC seat – Sify
- Geelani woos tourists this year for separatist propaganda – Hindustan Times
- Bhat favours talks with interlocutors – Hindustan Times
- Geelani for shutdown on June 11, faces warrant in 1985 case – Hindustan Times
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