SRINAGAR, Feb 10 (1995) – A large independence rally here by a powerful Kashmiri Moslem rebel group was marred Friday by the assassination of a top leader by unidentified gunmen, witnesses said.
The Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF), one of the oldest militant groups fighting Indian rule in the northern state, scrapped the rally mid-way as Idrees Khan was shot dead near Kashmir’s holiest Islamic shrine, they said.
The demonstration, called to mark the eve of the 11th death anniversary of of JKLF founder Maqbool Bhat, was halted as news of Khan’s death filtered back from the marchers’ destination — the sacred Hazratbal mosque.
Bhat was hanged in New Delhi’s Tihar jail in 1984 on murder charges which the JKLF says were fabricated.
A convoy of vehicles festooned with banners and portraits of Bhatt was proceeding to the lakeside mosque in this state summer capital when Khan was killed by unidentified masked assailants, they said.
Addressing a large crowd which had come to offer prayers at Hazratbal and pay respects to Bhat’s memory, JKLF leader Mohammed Yasin Malik said the “killers of Idrees would not be forgiven.”
Witnesses said the lakeside area around Hazratbal, which Moslems believe houses a strand of hair of the prophet Mohammed, was tense and that the JKLF had launched a massive manhunt for the killers.
Idrees Khan helped negotiate a settlement between the state government and 65 Moslem rebels and worshippers who had besieged the Hazratbal mosque for 34 days in October 1993.
Meanwhile, security was beefed up in the troubled state ahead of a general strike called by the All Parties Freedom Conference, grouping some 30 Moslem political and rebel groups, to commemorate the anniversary of Bhat’s death Saturday.
Nearly 10,000 people have died in Kashmir since 1989 when Moslem militants stepped up a secessionist drive. India accuses Pakistan of fomenting militancy in the disputed province but Islamabad denies the charge.
