Incidents involving All Parties Hurriyat Conference

2012

December: 30 The moderate and hard-line factions of the APHC have called for a complete strike on December 31 demanding withdrawal of armed forces from towns and cities and repealing of AFSPA.

April 25: Jammu and Kashmir Police registered a case against APHC-G leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani, charging him with attempt to murder and stone-pelting. Geelani had gone to North Kashmir on April 6, where he addressed a gathering after offering Friday prayers.

April 17: A Delhi court commenced the trial of a close aide of APHC-G leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Ghulam Mohd Bhat, and three others, for allegedly running a hawala (illegal money transfer) racket to fund HM in J&K. The three other accused include Mohammad Siddiq Ganai, Ghulam Jeelani Liloo and Farooq Ahmed Dagga. The court had framed charges against all the four accused under various sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act on March 3, 2012.

The NIA in 2011 had filed the charge sheet against the four, indicting them for procuring over INR 45.7 million from Pakistan through hawala channels within three years after 2008 for funding the terrorist activities in the Valley. Detailing their modus operandi, the NIA had said Ganai developed a close relationship with Delhi-based Raj Kumar and his brother-in-law Rajeev Nankani and motivated them to collect money on their behalf from hawala operatives in New Delhi.

April 6: At least 20 people including six Policemen were injured in clashes that broke out in Baramulla town of Baramulla District in the afternoon after protesters pelted stones on the Baramulla Police Station. The protests broke out after the chairman of the hardline faction of Hurriyat Conference, Syed Ali Shah Geelani, addressed a gathering in the Main Chowk of the town.

March 30: APHC-M Chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq is "supported and controlled" by ISI, US Attorney Neil H MacBride claimed before the US District Court in Alexandria in Virginia, before the scheduled sentencing of Executive Director of the KAC Syed Ghulam Nabi Fai. MacBride made a 10-page submission to the court. In a footnote, he linked the Mirwaiz to the ISI. Fai submitted the names of 53 individuals from Pakistan, India and the US in his support and all of them have urged the District Judge Liam O'Grady to give Fai a lighter sentence. Mirwaiz is among those who have written letters of support.

Fai was sentenced to two years of imprisonment by the court for "conspiracy to defraud the US" by concealing the transfer of at least USD 3.5 million from ISI to fund his illegal lobbying efforts on Kashmir.

March 1: Delhi Police will question APHC-G Chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani over alleged links with LeT. Reports say Geelani had given a reference letter to the LeT militant, Athesham Malik to obtain a Pakistani visa. Official sources said a copy of the recommendation letter given by Geelani was found in the papers seized from 24-year-old Malik. Athesham Malik was arrested by Delhi Police on February 28 along with another LeT militant Shafaqat.

2011

December 16: The 'chairman' of APHC-G, Syed Ali Shah Geelani, stated that the separatist leaders be free and allow their political activities to see who is favoured in the society.

November 25: Police on November 25 said that they arrested a person who was about to hand over the snatched pistol of the Military Intelligence (MI) trooper to LeT militants in the Sopore area of Baramulla District. While giving details, Police said they arrested five persons who had assaulted the MI trooper in APHC-G leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani's rally in Sopore two weeks ago. On the instance of one of the arrested persons, service pistol of the MI trooper was recovered from one Mudasir Ahmad Dar. Police claimed that Mudasir was arrested along with the pistol when he was about to hand it over to the LeT militants. Police said that all the six arrested persons are acting as foot soldiers for Syed Ali Shah Geelani.

November 24: Jammu and Kashmir Police refuted the report of a New Delhi-based human rights group alleging rights violation in the arrest of minors saying those mentioned in it face criminal charges. "Majority of the persons were arrested on the grounds of rape, sodomy, theft, outraging the modesty of women, eve teasing, violation of Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic substance act (drug peddling), murder, kidnapping and other heinous social crimes," Deputy Inspector General of Police (Srinagar range) Abdul Gani Mir told reporters. "Majority of these alleged minors are already bailed out, which exposes the sinister designs of separatists (for calling the strike)," he added. He was reacting to November 25 (today) shutdown call given by APHC-G leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani to protest against the arrest of alleged minors following the report by Asian Centre for Human Rights. Mir said out of 51 cases mentioned in the report, only 38 belong to Kashmir valley.

October 27: Police have busted a LeT module that carried out attacks at Baramulla and Batamaloo on August 25 in which two persons were killed and 13 others were injured, Deputy Inspector General (Central Kashmir) Abdul Gani Mir said. Mir said, "On August 25, a blast took place at Baramulla in which a civilian and a BSF jawan were killed. An hour later a blast occurred at Batamaloo here in which 13 persons were injured. We launched investigations in both these incidents and it was established that these blasts were carried out on directions of Sopore based Lashkar 'commander' Muza Molvi. Furqan, an ex-filtrated militant of LeT was in contact with Muza Molvi and both of them made the ultimate plan of the twin blasts." Mir said that the leads about the involvement of module in militant activities came to fore after the arrest of Muzaffar Ahmad Mir, the militant responsible for the killing of Sajad Ahmad Parray, a Police Constable at Hazratbal on October 14.

He said five LeT operatives were arrested from different parts of Valley. A Special Investigation Team (SIT) constituted to probe the blasts succeeded in arresting two LeT operatives, identified as Irfan Ashraf Dar and Ali Mohammad, both residents of Reban-Sopore in Baramulla District. Later, one more LeT operative, identified as Tariq, was arrested. Police also arrested one Khalid Ahmad Bhat alias Sajad son of Haji Ghulam Hassan resident of Nagam-Chadoora in Budgam District in connection with the twin blasts at Baramulla and Batamaloo. The DIG said that Haji Ghulam Hassan is an active worker APHC-G.

October 24: The APHC-G chairman, Syed Ali Shah Geelani, said Kashmir, in all probabilities, was going to be a part of Pakistan "had the Indian troops not landed here on the day." He also reiterated the call for strike on October 27, 2011.

October 20: APHC-G chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani rebuffed United Jihad Council (UJC) leader and HM chief Syed Salah-ud-Din's appeal against taking to the Union Government, saying he does not take "dictations''. "We take our own decisions here and dictations are not taken by us," he said while reacting to Salah-ud-Din's statement. Geelani said his Hurriyat faction would accept the Centre's talks offer only after a formal invitation. "The talks offer in that case will be discussed in the advisory council of (his Hurriyat faction),'' he told reporters. Geelani had earlier ruled out unconditional dialogue with the Centre, saying New Delhi should first accede to his five demands, including demilitarization, as a precondition to the talks.

October 18: APHC-G chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani expressed his willingness to hold talks with the Centre over Kashmir issue. He said he would seek the consent of his colleagues in the advisory committee if the Centre extended an offer for talks. He, however, said that India should first accept his four demands- acknowledgement of Kashmir as an international dispute, demilitarization Jammu and Kashmir, revocation of draconian laws like AFSPA, Public Safety Act etc., release of political prisoners and prosecution of Security Forces responsible for the killing of over 100 people last summer.

September 27: APHC-G alleged that 70 per cent Tehreek-e-Hurriyat (TeH) leadership was serving detention in different prisons since 2010 mass agitation, according to Greater Kashmir. The APHC-G spokesman Ayaz Akbar in a statement said, "70 per cent of Tehreek-e-Hurriyat leadership is detained in jails since 2010." The amalgam has expressed serious concern over the continued detention of the TeH senior leaders, Muhammad Yousuf Fallahi and Peer Saifullah.

Security agencies have arrested 98 persons and seized INR 12.3 million since 2009 as part of efforts to check pumping of hawala money into Jammu and Kashmir for funding secessionism and militancy, the State Government informed the Legislative Assembly. Of the arrested persons, 48 were found misusing trade across the Line of Control (LoC) and INR 73, 34,410 along with en-cashed cheque worth INR 100,000 one lakh recovered from them. The highest number of 66 arrests were made in 2009 and INR 7.7 million was recovered that year. Only 15 persons were arrested and nearly INR 1 million was seized from them in 2010. As many as 17 persons were arrested till July 2011 and INR 36, 17,000 were recovered from them, the Government said. The money was meant for Hurriyat Conference, Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front, Islamic Students Front, Mass Movement, Peoples Conference, Mahaz-e-Azadi and Democratic Freedom Party, besides militant outfits - Hizb-ul-Mujahideen (HM), Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT), Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM), Al-Badr, Harkat-ul-Mujahideen (HuM, Al-Umer, Jamiat-ul-Mujahideen, Al-Burq and Islamic Front.

September 12, 2011: APHC-G chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani rejected the Truth and Reconciliation Commission proposed by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and demanded a UN-fact finding mission to probe the unmarked graves in Jammu and Kashmir. "We vehemently reject the Truth and Reconciliation Commission as we do not expect justice from the system which is perpetuating human rights violations in the state," said Geelani, who is under house arrest. Omar had reiterated his suggestion for setting up of Truth and Reconciliation Commission after the investigative wing of the State Human Rights Commission admitted the existence of over 2,700 unmarked graves at 38 sites in north Kashmir.

September 8: A US secret diplomatic cable revealed that APHC-M chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq wanted LoC to be converted into a permanent border and three separate legislative assemblies for Ladakh, Jammu and Kashmir regions with Chief Minister and Governor from each region on rotation basis, according to Indian Express. The cable said the Mirwaiz wanted this "because he was concerned about his own political future".

It adds that the Mirwaiz's proposal - 'United States of Kashmir' - included turning the LoC into a permanent border between India and Pakistan. "First, the LoC would become border, but every effort would be made by parties on both sides to make it irrelevant similar to the soft barriers that define many of the borders in Europe. Second, both Kashmiri regions of India and Pakistan would be given semi-autonomous status. The proposal would set three separate state assemblies on the Indian side… and two on the Pakistani side including Azad Kashmir and northern areas," it says.

United States Embassy in New Delhi believes that the APHC spearheading the resistance movement in Jammu and Kashmir split in 2003 due to "proxy participation" of Abdul Gani Lone-led People's Conference (PC) in the Legislative elections in 2002, Kashmir Dispatch reports citing a Wikileaks cable released recently. The partial extract of the original cable, which details the profile of Kashmir-related leaders, dates back to 2005. The cable while profiling Lone's son, Sajad Gani Lone, who participated in the 2008 state elections, says, "The Hurriyat split in September 2003 on the issue of People's Conference's proxy participation in 2002 landmark state elections." The three-part biographic report compiled "information academics, journalists, NGO activists and others during a 2002-2005 assignment at embassy New Delhi" and impressions gained from contact with Kashmir-related politicians, government officials, separatists. Syed Ali Shah Geelani demanded that the PC and the brothers be expelled from the APHC, but the moderates (Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, Prof Abdul Ghani Bhat, Maulvi Abbas Ansari and the Lones) resisted, whereupon Geelani took his group out of the Hurriyat, and it has remained deeply split ever since, the US cable read.

September 7: For the second consecutive day, normal life remained affected in Kashmir valley in response to a strike call given by APHC-G chairman Syed Ali Shah Ali Shah Geelani. However, the situation remained peaceful and no reports of protest as well as stone pelting were received from any part of the Valley. As reported earlier, Geelani had called for two day strike (September 6-7) and protests to mount pressure on the State Government to release arrested youth and political prisoners.

September 6: Normal life across Srinagar and other major towns of the Kashmir valley was affected in response to a strike call given by APHC-G leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani. Geelani has called for two day strike (September 6-7) and protests to mount pressure on the State Government to release arrested youth and political prisoners. Further, around 100 youth were arrested on charges of stone throwing before Eid from downtown Srinagar area after stone pelters attacked Nowhatta Police Station on August 27.

September 4: A leaked cable highlighted the turf war between rival factions of the APHC. According to the cable, APHC-M leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq had counseled against issuing a passport to APHC-G chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani for seeking treatment in the United States saying he would "stir up trouble". "When we met Mirwaiz in February, he said it would be a big mistake for the GoI (Government of India) to issue Geelani a passport to travel, because he would stir up trouble".

September 2: A CRPF trooper was injured in incidents of stone pelting in Baramulla town, according to Daily Excelsior. As soon as APHC-G chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani finished his speech at General Bus Stand in Baramulla town, groups of youth assembled near the Bus Stand and adjoining markets. They started pelting stones on SFs injuring a CRPF trooper. Stone pelting and protests were also reported from the main market of Sopore. Also, some miscreants attempted to disrupt peace and resorted to stone pelting on SFs' deployments after the Friday prayers at Nowhatta in Srinagar.

Meanwhile, Geelani has called for two day strike, on September 6 and 7, against continuous detention of youth and separatist leaders and threatened more strikes and protests across Kashmir if Government does not release them immediately. He asked people to be ready for a long drawn agitation programme saying that protests would continue unless Government releases all youth arrested in 2010 along with political activists.

August 31: APHC-G leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani said that he would come out with a protest programme alleging that most of the youth arrested during 2010 summer agitation are yet to be released. "Although some of the youth were released, but most of them remained behind bars. The Government is giving an impression that all the youth have been released, but it is not true. Once the Eid celebrations are over an organized agitation programme would be announced and the same would be made public," Geelani said while addressing people at Eidgah in Sopore.

August 28: Chief Minister Omar Abdullah announced an amnesty package for nearly 1,200 youths arrested during 2010 summer agitation in Kashmir valley. Omar said that the amnesty is for all those booked on charges of stone pelting, except for those involved in cases of arson during the agitation. "This would be first and last chance for them as we are not going to tolerate their actions in future", he added. "The cases of youth involved in arson would be reviewed if the situation remained normal and no unfortunate incidents are reported," he asserted. Times of India quoted him as saying, "(However,) the cutoff date for amnesty is today. We cannot do it again. Anyone arrested till today on stone-pelting charges can avail this amnesty." All Party Hurriyat Conference-Geelani (APHC-G) Chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani had earlier set a deadline of Eid-ul-Fitr for the release of all those involved in 2010 summer unrest. The Government had, earlier in the week, released 12 political prisoners, including two close aides of Geelani.

The hawala money (illegal transfer of money) supplied by Pakistan for the militant 'commanders' and separatists through cross-Line of Control (LoC) trade route of Uri (India)-Muzaffarabad (Pakistan) has been worked out around INR 60-70 million. Some weapons had also been smuggled under the cover of trade items from the same route.

Interrogation of the arrested persons and investigations by the intelligence agencies have revealed that Firdous Ahmed Dar, earlier arrested on August 20, was not the only conduit but nearly half a dozen persons had received hawala money and weapons through the cross-LoC route which had been supplied by Pakistani agencies. Sources said the cash received by the conduits had been distributed among the militant 'commanders' and the separatists according to directions received by them from across the LoC. The 'commanders' of Hizb-ul-Mujahideen (HM) and separatists affiliated to All Party Hurriyat Conference-Geelani (APHC-G) were major beneficiaries of the cash sent by Pakistan through the cross-LoC route. Firdous Ahmed Dar along had admitted having received INR 15 million through cross-LoC route of Uri-Muzaffarabad. Of this amount, he had distributed INR 300000 to Aiyaz Akbar, the spokesman of APHC-G and a trusted lieutenant of its chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani, in three equal installments of INR 100000 each.

August 26: Clashes broke out between Security Forces and the stone pelting youth in Nowhatta area of Srinagar city after over 100000 people offered payers at Jamia. This is the fourth consecutive Friday when protests and stone pelting took place in Nowhatta area. The recent wave of protests started after chairmen of both the factions of All Party Hurriyat Conference Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Syed Ali Shah Geelani threatened to launch agitation against arrest of youth and curbs on separatist leaders.

August 20: Police and Intelligence agencies cracked a major hawala (illegal transfer of money) network being operated by Pakistan through two cross-LoC traders doing business on Uri-Muzaffarabad rout. One of the cross-LoC businessman, arrested by the Security agencies, has confessed having generated INR 15 million through the business transactions and distributed it among several militant leaders and separatists. He has also admitted having paid INR three million in three installments to hard-line Hurriyat Conference spokesman, Aiyaz Akbar, a close aide of All Party Hurriyat Conference-Geelani (APHC-G) Syed Ali Shah Geelani, official sources said. They identified the cross-LoC businessman, who has turned out to be a major hawala operator for Pakistan, as Firdous Ahmed Dar son of Abdul Rashid Dar, a resident of Sangam, Bijbehara in Anantnag District.

August 7: APHC-G leader, Syed Ali Geelani, has called for complete shutdown on August 15, the Independence Day of India, according to Kashmir Media Service. Geelani stated, "The day should be observed as black day and we must remember our martyrs who sacrificed their lives for the freedom of Kashmir".

August 5: At least 12 persons were injured as street protests in Jammu and Kashmir. Large number of youth after offering congregational Friday prayers at the Srinagar's Jamia Masjid in Nowhatta took out a rally to protest the curbs on APHC-M chairman, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, by the Government and against alleged custodial killing of Nazim Rashid in Sopore on July 31. The youth pelted stones on the Police and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF). They, in return, resorted to cane charge and fired tear gas shells to stop them from marching ahead. Four protesters were injured in the clashes that followed in Nowhatta, Gojwara and Jamia Masjid areas. Three photo-journalists covering the incident were also injured.

Senior separatist leaders were placed under house arrest ahead of APHC-G chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani's call for peaceful protests against the alleged custodial death of Rashid. Geelani and Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and several other leaders, including Shabir Ahmad Shah, Nayeem Ahmad Khan and Shahid-ul-Islam are under house arrest for past several days.

August 3: Life in Srinagar and other major towns of the Kashmir valley was affected by a strike call given by APHC-G and supported by APHC-M against the earlier reported alleged custodial killing of Nazim Rashid alias Anjum in Sopore area of Baramulla District on July 31, according to Daily Excelsior. Stray incidents of stone pelting were reported from Maisuma, Nowhatta, Gojwara, Jamia Masjid, Khanyar, Naid Kadal, Saraibal areas of Srinagar city, as well as from various parts Sopore town.

August 2: the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has put APHC-G chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani under the scanner, following investigations of Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) funding for separatists in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K). The NIA has filed a charge sheet saying that a key aide of Geelani had supplied INR 45.7 million of slush funds from the ISI in Pakistan to the separatists in J&K for secessionist and terror activities. Sources in the Home Ministry say that though NIA has not named Geelani as an accused in their charge sheet, a "further probe" is on into his role.

The main accused in the charge sheet is Ghulam Mohammad Bhat, whom the NIA has identified as the "legal advisor" of the APHC-G and Geelani's close aide. Three other J& K residents - Mohd Siddiqui Ganai, Ghulam Jilani Lilo and Farooq Ahmed Dagga - were charge sheeted last week too. NIA has also identified a Hizb-ul-Mujahedeen (HM) 'commander' in Pakistan, Maqbool Pandit, who the NIA claims sent INR 45.7 million since 2008 from Pakistan to a contact of Bhat in Delhi by Hawala. This is the same case in which Delhi Police special cell sleuths had waylaid Geelani near the Delhi Airport on March 1, and had questioned him on his links with Bhat. Geelani was then trying to leave for Srinagar without heeding to a request from the Delhi Police to meet them in connection with this case.

APHC-M chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq threatened violent protests across Kashmir if the restrictions imposed on the separatist leaders continued. Mirwaiz, while addressing a press conference at his residence, said that he would be forced to ask people to come on streets and lodge protests. "There are curbs on people and protests against the human rights violations in the Valley are not allowed," he alleged, and asserted, "Our programmes have been peaceful so far and people have been following the same. But the situation is going out of control and peoples' anger has crossed all the limits. I believe there would be violence and agitation if the people are not allowed to register their protest in a peaceful manner." He also supported the strike call given by APHC-G chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani against the killing of Nazim Rashid. "I am not in favour of strikes but protest in the form of strike is the last resort in Kashmir," he added.

A close aide of APHC-G leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani is among four persons charge sheeted by National Investigation Agency (NIA) in connection with alleged hawala racket used to channelise money to terrorists of Hizb-ul-Mujahideen (HM) in the Kashmir Valley. The chargesheet names Ghulam Mohammed Bhat, Geelani's aide, along with three other accomplices, including Mohd Sidiq Ganai, who had allegedly collected over INR 4.57 crore during a period of three years from January, 2008 through hawala channels from Pakistan for promoting "terrorist" activities in the valley. "The investigation has disclosed that four arrested accused acted as a gang and indulged in unlawful activities pursuant to criminal conspiracy and mobilised/raised funds for terrorist activities and thereby they committed offences under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act," said the NIA in its 17-page charge sheet.

The chargesheet said that "funds through hawala channels were being sent to Jammu and Kashmir for funding terror and secessionist acts in the state and Pakistan-based Maqbool Pandit, a member of banned Hizb-ul-Mujahideen, and Aizaz Maqbool Bhat, at present living in Saudi Arabia, were the key accused behind it." Special judge H S Sharma took the charge sheet on record for taking cognizance and issuing summons to the accused who are at present lodged in Tihar jail in New Delhi.

July 31: The Delhi Police has reportedly launched a manhunt for Nasir Safi Mir, who is accused of funding several Hurriyat leaders and is believed to have fled to the Gulf after jumping parole. He was arrested by Delhi Police in February 2006 while carrying INR 55 lakh from a Delhi-based jeweller along with some explosives. He had jumped parole which he had got after several requests made by his family to a court citing medical problems. Mir, against whom a non-bailable warrant was issued in 2009, managed to escape using the Nepal route from where he had used the forged passport procured with the help of a senior separatist leader in Kashmir and officials in security establishment, they said. He reached Dubai after making a detour through Europe and Libya. However, the sources now claim that he has left Dubai as well.

The name of Mir, a resident of North Kashmir, who ostensibly used carpet trade and later a money exchange business in Dubai for sending hawala money (illegal money transfer) to Hurriyat leaders and other separatists in Kashmir, cropped up when the Government was examining the role of Kashmiri American Council leader Gulam Nabi Fai and whether India could give some additional information to the US, the sources said. Apart from Mir, considered as the "financial brain" behind funding of separatist activities in Kashmir, investigators were also probing the role of some senior Government officials who had helped him in securing a passport from a Southern State which helped him to flee from Nepal around October 2008, official sources said.

July 29: The chairman of the APHC-M Umar Farooq said the mainstream political parties in J&K represent Indian Government's view point on issue of State and there is no need of Pakistan to hold talks with them. He further said the mainstream parties can't be representatives of the people of the State as they are in power just for their personal interests. He said that for the past three years Omar Abdullah Government is using force to "quell the genuine voice of the people." He also condemned the External Affairs Ministry's objections over meeting of Kashmiri separatists with Pakistani Foreign Minister Hinna Rabbani Khar.

July 27: Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said that "there is nothing new in Hurriyat Conference leaders meeting Pakistani dignitaries. This is not happening for the first time and there is nothing to worry about." He, however, added, "If they want inclusion of Kashmiri leadership in the dialogue, then Pakistan will have to talk to the mainstream leadership also." He said separatists were not the only leaders in Jammu and Kashmir as the mainstream political parties have proved their representative character from time to time.

July 26: Pakistan Minister Hina Rabbani Khar met leaders of both the factions of APHC during which the separatists sought Islamabad's intervention for release of Ghulam Nabi Fai arrested in US for being a front of ISI.

July 20: APHC-G leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani was detained by Police in South Kashmir after his supporters clashed with Police. Few people received minor injuries as Police resorted to baton charge on a group of protesters who raised anti-national slogans after Police tried to detain Geelani at Verinag in Anantnag District. An unnamed Police spokesman said, "Instigated by the speech of Geelani, a small group of miscreants resorted to stone pelting on Police at main market of Verinag in the afternoon."

AHHC-G chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani said, "Fai's arrest was carried out at India's behest to weaken the Kashmir's struggle at diplomatic level." APHC-M chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq said, "All groups and individuals who are championing the Kashmir cause across the globe are working within the laws of the countries they are in." Other separatist leaders like Shabir Ahmad Shah, Mohammad Yasin Malik, Javid Ahmad Mir have strongly condemned Fai's arrest.

July 12: Chairman of the All Party Hurriyat Conference-Mirwaiz (APHC-M), Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, described the dialogue process initiated by Centre through Interlocutors as a "farce". "It is a fraud, it is a lie. They talk of dialogue, they talk of settlement of Kashmir issue, but in practice they act through military and Police means. This place has been turned into a Police State," he alleged. "No dialogue process between India and Pakistan or Centre and Srinagar will bear any results unless the ground situation in Kashmir changes and the rights of the people are restored," Mirwaiz said.

July 7: APHC-G chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani asked the youth of Kashmir to desist from stone pelting. He said last year 120 civilians were killed in Police and Security Forces firing and "we did not achieve anything." "If we pelt stones on Police and Security Forces it is quite natural that they would fire upon us. Although, there were injuries to Police and Security Forces personnel but there was no fatal casualty," he added. "We cannot afford to have a situation where thousands of youth are booked under Public Safety Act (PSA) for their alleged involvement in stone pelting," he further said. "People have failed to safeguard the sacrifices offered by the people from time to time for the resolution of Kashmir issue. Dialogue would be successful only when Government of India accepts Kashmir as a dispute," he asserted. Geelani also said that Pakistani leaders didn't take any initiative in 1947 that resulted in non-resolution of the issue.

June 29: APHC-M chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq ruled out any chance of re-unification with APHC-G led by Syed Ali Shah Geelani, saying all efforts made by him have proved futile. In an interview, Mirwaiz said, "We tried our level best for the re-unification, but alas… Now there is no scope for it." "I personally went to (Syed Ali Shah) Geelani and tried to convince him for reunification. Last year [2010] during summer uprising, we tried to develop unified approach with Geelani, but it also didn't work," he added.

In another context, he advocated for incremental approach for resolving Kashmir issue, saying, "Solution of Kashmir issue has to be step-by-step process. We are willing to discuss everything with New Delhi apart from status quo." Asked whether his faction of Hurriyat was willing to enter into a dialogue with New Delhi, he said, "We aren't against dialogue in any way. But dialogue shouldn't be for sake of the dialogue. Neither New Delhi and Islamabad have been able to make any headway in dialogue in past nor they can reach in future without the inclusion of Kashmiris."

June 10: Police placed under house arrest, Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Chairman of All Party Hurriyat Conference -Geelani (APHC-G) and arrested Shabir Ahmad Shah along with his supporters at Lahindajan - Pakharpora in Budgam District.

June 5: The District and Sessions Court of Kupwara issued a non-bailable warrant against APHC-G chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani. The separatist leader has called for a strike on June 11 to remember the people killed by Police and SFs in protests.

June 2: The head of the Kashmir Committee Ram Jethmalani held meetings with separatist leaders including APHC-G Chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani in Sriganar and said a solution to the Kashmir issue is not far away.

June 1: Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Chairman of APHC-G, was placed under house arrest in Srinagar, one day ahead of his meeting with Ram Jethmalani's Kashmir Committee.

Senior separatist leader Moulana Abass Hussain Ansari returned to APHC-M fold following the executive council of the faction revoking his suspension.

May 27: State Police and SFs, on advice of State Government, placed chairmen of both factions of All Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC) Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Syed Ali Shah Geelani, along with other separatist leaders.

Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah, criticized the APHC leaders for calling strikes during summer and questioned their motive in getting more restive during peak of tourism season. Meanwhile, some people took to streets in some of the areas of downtown Srinagar city and pelted stones on Police and SFs against the Government decision to put the Hurriyat chairman under house arrest. The protesters resorted to stone pelting and it was retaliated by cane charge by Police and SFs.

May 26: Meanwhile, an Over Ground Worker (OGW) of LeT, identified as Showkat Ahmad Khan allegedly involved in the murder of Hurriyat leader Sheikh Aziz on August 11, 2008, was arrested nearby Kansipora locality in Baramulla District.

May 25: There were also reports of complete poll boycott in Dooru village in Baramulla District, native place of All Party Hurriyat Conference-Geelani (APHC-G) Chairman, Syed Ali Shah Geelani. It is learnt that nobody had stood up for elections from this village and no vote was cast there.

May 22: All Party Hurriyat Conference-Mirwaiz (APHC-M) Chairman Mirwaiz Umer Farooq may have had a secret meeting with the head of Inter Services Intelligence (ISI), Lieutenant General Ahmed Shuja Pasha, in Europe.

APHC-M stated that it is ready for a negotiated settlement of the Kashmir issue with the Centre. Mirwaiz said that the APHC-M wants a peaceful resolution of the issue through talks among India, Pakistan and the Kashmiris and is willing to discuss various alternatives put forth so far.

May 20: Authorities have decided not to allow the proposed rally of All Party Hurriyat Conference-Mirwaiz (APHC-M) at Eidgah in Srinagar in view of killing of Maulvi Showkat Ahmad Shah last month. The sources stated that "apprehensions that elements inimical to peace and stability in Kashmir" might take advantage of the large gathering to target the leaders present there.

The Centre's interlocutors on Jammu and Kashmir are hopeful of the All Party Hurriyat Conference- Geelani (APHC-G) joining the dialogue process. Professor Radha Kumar, one of the interlocutors said, "We are ready to talk to anyone and separatists surely are stakeholders in the process. They should come forward and talk."

May 19: Police placed All Party Hurriyat Conference-Geelani (APHC-G) Chairman, Syed Ali Shah Geelani under house arrest in his Hyderpora residence in Budgam District to prevent him from addressing a public gathering in Anantnag District addressing the issue of plight of political prisoners.

The Jammu and Kashmir High Court canceled detention orders under Public Safety Act (PSA) against six persons including senior All Party Hurriyat Conference-Geelani (APHC-G) leader Abdul Ahad Para.

May 8: The All Part Hurriyat Conference-Geelani (APHC-G) Chairman, Syed Ali Shah Geelani, on called for a shutdown in Kashmir valley on May 14 demanding release of political prisoners and youths. District-wise rallies would also be held across the state to highlight the plight of political prisoners lodged in various jails. The first such rally would be held at Shopian District in South Kashmir on May 13, a day before the general strike called Geelani.

May 6: All Party Hurriyat Conference-Geelani (APHC-G) Chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani led hundreds of people in funeral prayers for al-Qaeda ‘Chief’ Osama bin Laden at Batamaloo in Srinagar. Nearby, a large gathering of lawyers and staff of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court offered prayers for Osama on the Court’s premises. Top moderate leader Shabir Shah also led people in prayers at Sarai Bala, across from Lal Chowk. Soon after Geelani left, a group of young men started pelting stones but were promptly chased away by police.

May 5: Police has put All Party Hurriyat Conference- Geelani (APHC-G) Chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani under house arrest fearing trouble as the separatist leader was going to lead the funeral prayers in absentia for Osama bin Laden at Batamaloo in Srinagar District after the Friday prayers. Terming him a 'martyr', Geelani said bin Laden was not just one person but "he represented a thinking which opposed foreign occupational forces".

April 29: Hizb-ul-Mujahideen (HM) ‘chief commander’ Syed Salahuddin dismisses reports of floating a political party but says that Syed Shah Geelani's All Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC) represents their goals and ideologies. He added that he completely supports Geelani, thereby raising questions over Geelani’s alleged terror links. "We support complete military evacuation from the territory of Kashmir, we support unified Jammu Kashmir and Ladakh. We do not agree to states and we do not agree to any kind of autonomy, we do not agree to Line of Control (LoC) trade at the cost of independence of the occupied state. We stand for complete independence from Indian slavery," added the HM ‘chief’.

April 20: The All Party Hurriyat Conference-Mirwaiz (APHC-M) suspended its constituent Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen (IuM) after the Chief patron of the party Maulana Mohammad Abbas Ansari met the Centre’s Interlocutors on Kashmir in Srinagar. The IuM is among the founder constituents of Hurriyat Conference and one of the seven parties which have representative in the highest decision-making body, the Executive Committee.

April 11: Security Forces (SFs) arrested an activist, Mohammad Younis Bhatt of the hardline All Part Hurriyat Conference (APHC-Geelani) from Anantnag District and recovered one AK-47. Bhat was involved in fomenting unrest in the State in 2010.

March 24: The All Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC-G) Chairman, Syed Ali Shah Geelani, was detained at Srinagar airport by the Police after his return from New Delhi, where he attended India Today Conclave. Geelani accompanied by his son Dr Nayeem Geelani, son-in-law, Altaf Ahmad Shah and (APHC-G) Spokesperson, Ayaz Akbar were taken in a Police vehicle from the airport.

March 11, 2011: Police arrested Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) Chairman, Mohammad Yasin Malik, senior leaders of ‘moderate faction’ of All Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC), Bilal Gani Lone and Shahid-ul-Islam and Vice-Chairman JKLF, Bashir Ahmad Bhat from the Maisuma area of Srinagar, as they were taking part in a protest programme carried out against the alleged human rights violations in the State.

March 4, 2011: Kud Police (Udhampur District) had intercepted a vehicle on March 23, 2002 and recovered USD 70,000 from Shamima and USD 30,000 along with INR 19,000 from Mushtaq Ahmed Dar. During questioning, both the passengers disclosed that they had received this money from Altaf Qadri, Executive Member of All Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC) presently in Pakistan and was at Kathmandu (Nepal), at the instance of JKLF chief Mohd Yaseen Malik. Being a close associate of Malik, Mushtaq Ahmed Dar was allegedly directed by Malik to proceed to Nepal to collect USD 100,000 from Altaf Qadri. Accused Mushtaq Ahmed Dar along with Shamima went to Kathmandu in the month of March 2002 and allegedly collected USD 100,000 which was to be distributed among the militants’ ranks and organisation including Hizb-ul-Mujahideen (HM) and Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT).

After completion of the investigation, Crime Branch presented charge-sheet in POTA Court, which issued general arrest warrants against Altaf Hussain Qadri on the request of Police to initiate proceedings under Section 512 Code of Criminal Procedure (Cr. Pc.) against him. Later, POTA Court granted bail to all the accused.

March 3, 2011: The All Party Hurriyat Conference- Geelani (APHC-G) Chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani was detained by Police at the Srinagar airport and put under house arrest soon after his arrival from New Delhi. In Delhi, he was questioned by the Police in connection with a Hawala (illegal money transfer) case.

March 1, 2011: The All Party Hurriyat Conference- Geelani (APHC-G) Chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani was questioned by the special cell of Delhi Police in connection with a Hawala (illegal money transfer) case in which one of his close aides Ghulam Mohammed Bhat has been arrested. Geelani made an unsuccessful attempt to leave Delhi on March 1 morning when he was intercepted by Assistant Commissioner of Police (Special Cell) Bhisham Singh near the airport and escorted to Lodhi Road where his statement as well as questioning was done.During the two-hour questioning, Geelani was brought face to face with Bhat, who is at present in Police custody after he was arrested under Unlawful Activities (Preventive) Act, on January 21.Commenting on the questioning of Geelani, Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram said, "Delhi Police had requested him to make himself available for questioning in a Hawala case. He (Geelani) had cited poor health as the reason for non-appearance to which he was asked to appear as soon as he was fine. However, he was leaving this morning for Srinagar. His statement was recorded and now he can leave whenever he wants to.”

February 21, 2011: The special cell of Delhi Police has confirmed that it has asked All Party Hurriyat Conference-Geelani (APHC-G) Chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani not to leave the city after one of his close associates was found involved in a hawala(illegal money transfer). "During Police remand, Gulam Mohammad Bhatt, who was arrested earlier in connection with a hawala case from Jammu & Kashmir, disclosed his association and financial dealings with the Hurriyat faction led by Geelani. In order to clarify certain issues that came to light during the disclosures made by Bhatt, a letter was sent to Geelani on February 17 to meet the Investigating Officer [IO] for questioning in the matter. However, Geelani expressed his inability to meet the IO due to medical reasons. In response to his reply, another letter was sent asking him to indicate the date and time convenient as per his health condition to meet the Investigating Officer. He was further asked not to leave Delhi till he has been examined in connection with the investigation of the case," said Deputy Commissioner of Police (Special Cell) Arun Kampani. "On January 22, officials of the special cell New Delhi Range apprehended four persons associated with Hizb-ul-Mujahideen [HM], a banned terrorist organization. The accused were identified as Mohammad SiddiqGanai, and Ghulam Gilani Laloo, both residents of Sopore, and Farooq Ahmed Dagga and Ghulam Mohammad Butt from Srinagar," said Kampani.

Four different transactions of INR 100,000, INR 10,000, INR 10,000 and INR 2 million (total INR 2.12 million) were recovered from their possession respectively. One Maruti car, a mobile phone and some incriminating documents were also recovered from them. It was during Police remand that one of the accused, Gulam Bhatt, disclosed his association and financial dealings with Geelani. The questioning is meant to clear these issues," said Kampani.

February 21, 2011: Two new pro-India political outfits are being launched in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K), headed by former militants and Ikhwan (counter-terrorist militia) ‘commanders’, with the backing of the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and the Indian Army. They are in the process of hiring office space right in front of the headquarters of All Party Hurriyat Conference, an amalgam of pro-Pakistan separatist outfits, in Srinagar's Rajbagh locality. While one outfit, with the backing of the MHA, will be headed by former Ikhwans and ex-militant ‘commanders’Zubair-ul-Islam and Imran Rahi, the other is being launched by former militant ‘commander’ from Anantnag, Liaquat Ali is believed to have the backing of Army.

February 19, 2011: In an effort to reach out to separatists, the interlocutors on Kashmir have sent a formal invitation to the All Party Hurriyat Conference-Geelani (APHC-G) chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani, chairman of Hurriyat Conference-Mirwaiz (APHC-M) Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, chief of Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) Yasin Malik and People's Conference leader Sajjad Lone. So far, the separatists have refused to talk to the interlocutors. Geelani has been told in the invitation that even if he isn't ready to meet the interlocutors, he can send his views in a written note. ''Even if you don't want to meet us, we are eager to hear from you and you can send your proposal to us in a written format,'' it added.

February 18, 2011: Responding to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's February 16 statement about the situation in Kashmir being under control, All Party Hurriyat Conference-Geelani (APHC-G) leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani said the present lull in violence in the Valley was temporary. "Indian troops and police killed around 150 youth and arrested thousands in 2010 and ensured the peace of the graveyard here but it does not mean everything is okay," Geelani said in a statement. He said the world and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh should not be "happy" about this temporary phase of lull in Kashmir. Reacting to the Prime Minister's statement that the recent demonstrations in Egypt against autocracy cannot be replicated in democratic India, Geelani claimed that in Jammu and Kashmir, an "Egypt like situation" had been in place in 2008, 2009 and 2010. "People, by coming on the roads, have done a referendum that they are not satisfied with India," he said, adding, "The people of Kashmir will bring such a revolution that the revolutions of Egypt and other countries will look pale."

February 1, 2011: A Hizb-ul-Mujahideen (HM) overground worker, Fayaz Ahmad Wani, a resident of Pattan in Baramulla District, who allegedly raised and distributed INR 70,000 among Kashmiri stone-pelters, was arrested by the Baramulla Police. A letter pad and a HM receipt book were recovered from him. Wani, presently functioning as tehsil (revenue) President of All Party Hurriyat Conference-Geelani (APHC-G) after the arrest of Showket Ahmad, along with District president Hamza Molvi, would collect money from APHC-G Headquarter at Hyderpora in Srinagar. Recently he had collected and distributed INR 70,000 among various stone-pelters of Palhallan in Pattan and its adjoining areas. Wani told his interrogators that he had been collecting funds on behalf of the banned outfit and distributing it among families of several slain terrorists, overground workers and families of people injured in the summer agitation in 2010. ''He was also instigating people to join militant ranks and avenge the killing of the people during the recent unrest,'' a Police statement said, adding, Wani told his interrogators that he organized processions in his area. ''He had organized a group of youth with the responsibility to organize violent protests at the village level,'' the statement further added. was later booked under Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.

January 30, 2011: The All Party Hurriyat Conference-Geelani (APHC-G) Chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani said a political solution was the only way out to resolve the Kashmir problem. "A political solution is the only way out for resolving the Kashmir problem," Geelani said in a statement. Pressing for release of political prisoners, he said "their imprisonment cannot lead to resolution of the Kashmir problem." He also demanded revocation of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) and the Public Safety Act alleging 85 per cent of the people were jailed under these provisions.

January 28, 2011: The three hawala (illegal money transfer) conduits, including Ghulam Mohammad Bhat, a close associate of All Party Hurriyat Conference-Geelani (APHC-G) chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani, who were arrested on January 23 by Srinagar Police and Delhi Police's special cell from Srinagar along with INR 21 lakh made a revelation that this money was being sent to Jammu & Kashmir via Delhi by the Inter Services Intelligence (ISI), Pakistan’s external intelligence agency, for stone-pelters, to deliberately create unrest in the valley. The money is being routed to J&K from Pakistan through a Delhi-based hawala dealer, who is yet to be arrested.

January 26, 2011: A close associate of All Party Hurriyat Conference-Geelani (APHC-G) Chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani arrested in connection with an alleged Hawala (illegal money transfer) racket was remanded in the custody of Delhi Police for 10 days. Ghulam Mohammed Bhat, against whom five cases, including running a Hawala racket, are already under investigation, was arrested on January 22 from a hospital in Srinagar, where he was allegedly feigning illness, Police sources said. INR 21 lakh was recovered from Bhat’s possession at the time of his arrest. Bhat was earlier arrested in 2008 in Udhampur District while returning to the Valley along with INR 55 lakh alleged Hawala money concealed in a gas cylinder.

January 22, 2011: A close associate of All Party Hurriyat Conference-Geelani (APHC-G) chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani was arrested in connection with an alleged Hawala (illegal money transfer) racket. "Ghulam Mohammad Bhat, who has been a financier of disruptive activities, has been arrested," Inspector General of Police (Kashmir) S M Sahai said, adding, INR 21 lakh were recovered from Bhat's possession at the time of his arrest from his Hyderpora residence. Bhat was injured in a scuffle between Police and his family who tried to resist his arrest. Two other persons one hailing from Kupwara and another from Sopore in Baramulla District have also been arrested in connection with the case.

January 10, 2011: Accusing the Centre of pushing the youth in Jammu and Kashmir to wall, the All Party Hurriyat Conference-Geelani (APHC-G) Chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani advised the youth against taking up arms and called for peaceful means to take the ongoing "freedom struggle" to its logical conclusion, according to Daily Excelsior. "New Delhi has unleashed State terror to force the youth to take up arms…It is a conspiracy against our peaceful struggle and therefore the youth should restraint from taking any such step which will provide a handle to India to malign our movement," Geelani said. He said many a youth had come to meet him and complained that there was no scope for peaceful struggle. "They were disappointed with peaceful ways and want to pick up guns but I advised them against it," the APHC-G chairman said. Geelani is under house arrest for the past 127 days.

December 27, 2010: According to a stone pelter who was arrested recently, each stone pelter is paid INR 400 every Friday. Police said the money was being raised locally by All Party Hurriyat Conference-Geelani (APHC-G) Chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani's followers. Most of the money came from fruit mandi (market) and saw mills, the Police said. APHC-G cadres who collected the money have been identified as Ghulam Mohammad Tantray of Behrampora, Ghulam Hassan Mir alias Chotta Geelani of Duroo, Mohammad Rustum of Amargarh, Sopore, Gani Guroo of Chankhan, Ashraf Malik, a Government employee in Education department of Batpor and Bashir Ahmad Tali, a resident of Chankhan, Sopore and an employee of Food & Supplies department. Tantray and Rustum have been detained and Malik is currently in custody. The rest are absconding.

December 16, 2010: All Party Hurriyat Conference-Mirwaiz (APHC-M) rejected any solution to Kashmir issue within the framework of Constitution saying there was a need for New Delhi, Islamabad and Kashmiri leadership for a negotiated settlement. "Time has come for India, Pakistan and representatives of Jammu and Kashmir to thrash out a negotiated settlement to Kashmir issue," chairman of the APHC-M Mirwaiz Umar Farooq said.

December 14, 2010: Masrat Alam, Chief of Muslim League, a constituent of the All Party Hurriyat Conference-Geelani (APHC-G), who led Kashmir unrest from June to September by issuing regular protest calendars, has so far confessed having received INR 4 million from APHC-G chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani through different channels to fuel the protests and incite stone pelters. Masrat admitted this during his sustained interrogation by Police.

Director General of Police (DGP) Kuldeep Khoda told that Police was trying to ascertain channels used by Geelani to make payments to Masrat in hiding. The sources, who were making payments to Geelani, are also being traced. He said Pakistan has been using different channels to fund the separatists, including Geelani, to sustain protests, which were part of their new strategy. Some of them were paid cash during their trips to different States while some others got money through net banking. Srinagar-Muzaffarabad cross-Line of Control (LoC) trade route has also been used for funding separatists, he added. "It (the payment of funds to separatists and others by Pakistan) was not a simple mechanism. Had it been so simple, we would have choked it. Several channels are being used by Pakistan to fund separatists and militants’’, he pointed out. Masrat Alam has revealed some of the channels implied by Pakistan. "It was not that everybody engaged in protests was paid. The organizers had been paid and they incited the people to hold protests and subject security forces and Police to stone pelting. The militants of Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) and Hizb-ul-Mujahideen (HM) had also been working behind the scenes to fuel the protests’’, Khoda further added.

December 9, 2010: The All Party Hurriyat Conference-Geelani (APHC-G) Chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani said the Kashmir issue can be resolved if the Centre gives up its "rigid and unrealistic" stand. "The simplest way to resolve the issue is to grant right to self determination to the people as per the United Nations Security Council resolutions," he claimed. The APHC-Mirwaiz (APHC-M) Chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq said before talking about the contours of the solution to the Kashmir issue, the focus should be on the contours of the engagement on it. "The engagement has to be with the majority sentiment in Kashmir. New Delhi will have to engage with the discourse on right to self-determination and ‘Azadi’ in Kashmir," he said. He said any lasting solution to the Kashmir issue can emerge only if all the stakeholders — India, Pakistan and Kashmiris — engage in a meaningful dialogue.

December 4, 2010: Protesters set ablaze a school bus in Old City area in Srinagar to enforce a shutdown called by the All Party Hurriyat Conference-Geelani (APHC-G) Chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani across the Kashmir Valley. No one was injured in the incident, Police said. "The bus of a private school was stopped at Khwaja Bazaar in Old City area. The students and the driver were forced to get down and the bus was then torched by the miscreants," An unnamed Police official said.

December 3, 2010: Chairmen of both the factions of the APHC – APHC-G Chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani and APHC-M chairman Mirwaiz Moulvi Umar Farooq - remained under house arrest. A spokesman of the APHC-G Aiyaz Akbar claimed Geelani has been under house arrest for the past 86 days. Mirwaiz Umar was put under house arrest since December 3-morning, APHC-M spokesman Shahidul Islam said.

December 1, 2010: Chairman of the All Party Hurriyat Conference-Mirwaiz (APHC-Mirwaiz) Mirwaiz Umar Farooq said that the APHC-Mirwaiz will continue its efforts to ‘educate’ the people of India about the genesis of Kashmir issue and need for its resolution. He also said Hurriyat was ready for talks, debate and discussions but the process has to be serious and result-oriented.

November 29, 2010: Writer Arundhati Roy, All Party Hurriyat Conference-Geelani (APHC-G) chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani and others were booked on charges of sedition by Delhi Police for their anti-India speech at a seminar in Delhi in October. The filing of the FIR came following a directive from a local court on November 27 on a petition filed by one Sushil Pandit who alleged that Geelani and Roy made anti-India speeches at a conference on "Azadi-the Only Way" on October 21, an unnamed senior Police official said. Roy and others were charged under Sections 124A (sedition), 153A (promoting enmity between classes), 153B (imputations, assertions prejudicial to national integration), 504 (insult intended to provoke breach of peace) and 505 (false statement, rumour circulated with intent to cause mutiny or offence against public peace. "These Sections have to be read with Section 13 of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act of 1967," the official said. Roy and Geelani had shared the dais with Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) sympathiser Vara Vara and others. Geelani was heckled by the audience.

November 26, 2010: Curfew was imposed in the old city areas of Srinagar to prevent protests and violence, a day after All Party Hurriyat Conference-Mirwaiz (APHC-M) leader Mirwaiz Umer Farooq was heckled at a seminar in Chandigarh. Curfew was clamped in five Police Station areas of Srinagar city - Nowhatta, M.R. Gunj, Rainawari, Khanyar and Safa Kadal. "Curfew will remain in force in five Police station areas of Srinagar today (Friday) while Section 144 (prohibiting the gathering of people) has been imposed in other areas to prevent violence by miscreants," an unnamed Police officer said. Mirwaiz Umer Farooq was heckled at a seminar in Chandigarh.

November 25. Clashes had broken out in some Old City areas after news about the assault on the Mirwaiz reached. Meanwhile, All Party Hurriyat Conference-Geelani (APHC-G) leader Syed Ali Geelani was placed under house arrest to thwart a protest march called by him after Friday prayers. "Each person should carry a brick in his hand after Friday prayers and march towards Eidgah where a memorial wall to the martyrs would be constructed today (Friday)," Geelani said in a statement.

November 21, 2010: APHC-Geelani Chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani said he had shared a platform with some people [referring to his sharing platform with Arundhati Roy in Delhi] who were supporting the cause of "Kashmiri people for right to self determination. They supported us because our cause is just and noble." Geelani said he did not know anything more about those people, indicating that there were no links between separatists in the State and Maoists in the rest of the country.

November 20, 2010: Both faction of the All Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC) – APHC-Geelani and APHC-Mirwaiz on denied any links between separatists in J&K and Maoists in rest of the country with APHC-Mirwaiz Chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq saying the remarks of Omar Abdullah were an attempt to malign "indigenous movement" in the Valley.

November 17, 2010: Five persons, including a Policeman, were injured in the clashes as protests were held at several places across Kashmir Valley soon after the Eid-ul-Azha prayers on a call given by the All Party Hurriyat Conference-Geelani (APHC-G) headed by Syed Ali Shah Geelani. Four civilians were injured in the clashes between the Police and the protestors, a Police spokesman said only one civilian sustained injury in the incident. He also said that one Policeman was also injured. "Head Constable Ghulam Mohammed was injured in the head at Janglat Mandi while a 'miscreant', identified as Noor Mohammed Shera, was injured by a stone during stone pelting at Nawakadal in Srinagar. Both of the injured are stable,” he said. Also, at Janglat Mandi in Anantnag District a mob set ablaze a Police vehicle. Meanwhile, Several separatist leaders including Chairmen of both factions of the All Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC) Mirwaiz Umar Farooq of APHC-M and Syed Ali Shah Geelani of APHC-G Shabir Ahmad Shah of Democratic Freedom Party and Nayeem Ahmad Khan of Kashmir National Front were placed under house arrest.

November 10, 2010: Muslim League, a constituent of the All Party Hurriyat Conference-Geelani (APHC-G) led by Syed Ali Shah Geelani, general secretary, Abdul Ahad Parra, was detained under the Public Safety Act (PSA) for instigating protests in Kashmir. Parra is a resident of Handwara in Kupwara District and is known for fomenting trouble in Kupwara District. He has enrolled a number of youth into stone pelting. Parra was shifted to high security Central Jail in Kot Bhalwal where he has been lodged along with other separatists, including Mian Abdul Qayoom, president, Kashmir Bar Association, Ghulam Nabi Shaheen Thokar, Asiya Andrabi and Fahmeeda Soofi among others. Syed Ali Shah Geelani called off his 10-day protest programme. He instead asked people to observe a shutdown on November 11, 2010. Geelani said the change in the programme was important to carry forward ''the movement and achieve the ultimate goal of the right to self-determination''.

November 7, 2010: The All Party Hurriyat Conference-Geelani (APHC-G) led by Syed Ali Shah Geelani eased the protest calendar for next 12 days, calling for only three days of strike. Describing APHC-Mirwaiz as pro-resolution, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, sought Obama's help in facilitating a tripartite dialogue involving India, Pakistan and Kashmir. ''We don't want the US's direct involvement in Kashmir but want it to help the tripartite dialogue. Peace in South Asia is possible only if the Kashmir issue is resolved. Considering the trust deficit between India and Pakistan, the US alone can mediate,'' said the Mirwaiz to reporters at his home.

November 3, 2010: Barring couple of stray incidents of stone pelting, the law and order situation in Kashmir Valley remained peaceful even as normal life was disrupted due to strike call given by the All Party Hurriyat Conference-Geelani (APHC-G) led by Syed Ali Shah Geelani.

October 28, 2010: Shops and business establishments were open and all modes of transport were plying in almost entire Valley, including the summer capital Srinagar, after authorities lifted curfew from Srinagar, Baramulla, Bandipora and Kupwara Districts and APHC-G exempted the day from the purview of its strike calendar. As per the schedule issued by Geelani, there will be no strike on October 29, 2010 also.

October 22, 2010: Normal life was disrupted in Kashmir Valley as authorities imposed curfew in several parts of the Valley to foil the plans of the All Party Hurriyat Conference-Geelani (APHC-G) led by Syed Ali Shah Geelani to hold a rally in Bijbehara town of Anantnag District. Official sources said curfew was imposed as a precautionary measure in Anantnag, Bijbehara and Shopian towns in South Kashmir to prevent the march to Bijbehara as announced in the 10-day protest schedule by Geelani. Curfew was also imposed in North Zone of Srinagar covering almost entire downtown Srinagar, Kupwara District town, Trehgam, Kralpora, Chotipora, Kulangam and Handwara areas in North Kashmir as these areas have witnessed violent protests after Friday prayers in the beginning of the ongoing unrest in Kashmir valley.

Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram said the Police would take action in accordance with law over the speeches made by Syed Ali Shah Geelani and others. Referring to Geelani’s speech at a seminar in New Delhi on October 21, 2010 he said, "If it is established prima facie that the laws have been violated, the Delhi Police will take action in accordance with the law."

October 21, 2010: Authorities imposed curfew in Srinagar and parts of Baramulla District to foil the plans of the All Party Hurriyat Conference-Geelani (APHC-G) headed by Syed Ali Shah Geelani to hold a rally at Lal Chowk in Srinagar. "Curfew was imposed early morning in the areas falling under the jurisdictions of Police Station Kothibagh, Maisuma, Kralkhud, Sadder, Shergari, Shaheedgung, Batamaloo, Safakadal, M.R. Gung, Khanyar, Nowhatta, and Rainawari of Srinagar city," a Police spokesman said. He said curfew has also been imposed in Sopore town, Sangrama, Watergam, Dangiwacha and Ladoora areas of Police Station Sopore. The APHC-G, which is spearheading ongoing agitation in the Valley, had called for a march to historic Lal Chowk where the separatist leaders from the amalgam had planned to hold a rally.

However, Syed Ali Shah Geelani gave a call for their boycott. Describing the exercise as a ploy of the Government to gain time, Geelani said there was “no sincerity” towards finding a permanent solution to the Kashmir problem. “I am announcing from the platform of this convention on Kashmir that nobody should meet the interlocutors when they visit the State. Do they not know what people in Kashmir want? What will these interlocutors do in their one-year-long mandate? They want to meet students, shopkeepers and everyone else but what do they want to know?” Geelani was speaking at “Convention on Kashmir – Azadi: The only Way,” organised by the Committee for the Release of Political Prisoners (CRPP) in New Delhi.

October 18, 2010: The pro-Pakistan Muslim League, a constituent of the All Party Hurriyat Conference-Geelani (APHC-G), Chief Masrat Alam, seen as the spearhead of street protests and stone-pelting in Kashmir Valley for the past four months, was arrested in Srinagar. Underground since June 2010, Alam, was arrested in Tailbal locality on the outskirts of the city. Alam would be booked under the Public Safety Act (PSA), official sources said. Sources said he carried a reward of INR 5 lakh on his head, adds The Hindu. He was seen as the one who chalked out 10-day protest calendars signed by Syed Ali Shah Geelani, APHC-G Chairman. Alam has been jailed for more than 10 years on charges, mostly of waging war against the State and “acting against national interest.” It was in the 2008 uprising against transfer of land to the Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board that he devised the Ragda, a dance in which people formed circles, stood shoulder-to shoulder, and stomped their feet shouting anti-India slogans. In 2010, Alam coined the “Go India, Go Back” slogan.

October 15, 2010: The All Party Hurriyat Conference-Geelani (APHC-G) led by Syed Ali Shah Geelani issued a fresh 10-day agitation schedule. While exempting Sundays (October 17 and 24) and the Wednesday (October 20), the remaining seven days have been marked for strikes and protests. Earlier, curfew was imposed in parts of Srinagar, Baramulla, Pulwama and Kupwara Districts of the Valley as a precautionary measure due to apprehensions of violent protests after Friday prayers.

October 14, 2020: The Kashmir Valley witnessed a day of normalcy after the Syed Ali Shah Geelani, the Chairman of the All Party Hurriyat Conference-Geelani (APHC-G), exempted the day from protests and strikes. A Police spokesman said, "The situation throughout the day remained normal and there was no untoward incident reported from anywhere in the Valley." He added that curfew restrictions were also lifted from parts of Sopore town in Baramulla District in the night of October 13. However, restrictions under prohibitory orders remained in force at Delina and Palhallan areas of the District as a precautionary measure, the spokesman added.

October 13, 2010: Authorities lifted curfew from entire Valley, except parts of Sopore town in Baramulla District. However, normal life remained affected due to the strike called by the All Party Hurriyat Conference-Geelani (APHC-G) headed by Syed Ali Shah Geelani in his 10-day protest schedule.

October 13, 2010: The All Party Hurriyat Conference-Geelani (APHC-G) rejected as a "futile exercise" the Centre’s appointment of interlocutors saying that no dialogue can be held for resolution of Kashmir issue unless the Centre acts on the five-point proposal mooted by him in August 2010 for normalisation of situation in the Valley. Separately, APHC-Mirwaiz termed the appointment as yet another non-serious initiative, adds The Hindu. “The Government should first identify the reason to appoint the interlocutors. The dialogue process is step two. Step one is that the ground realities should change first. Dialogue and oppression cannot go together, said the APHC-Mirwaiz chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, adding, that until the Government acted upon his party's four-point programme, the moderate Hurriyat will not enter into any dialogue.

October 12, 2010: Curfew was imposed on most parts of the Kashmir Valley to foil a march planned by the All Party Hurriyat Conference-Geelani (APHC-G) to Hyderpora in Srinagar, where its chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani has been under house arrest for some time. The march was called by Massarat Alam Bhat, a Geelani confidant.

October 11, 2010: Authorities imposed curfew across Kashmir Valley to foil the proposed march to Hyderpora called by the All Party Hurriyat Conference-Geelani (APHC-G) on October 12, 2010. ”Curfew has been imposed across Srinagar District," District Magistrate Srinagar Mehraj Ahmad Kakroo said. An unnamed Police spokesman said the authorities have decided to impose Valley-wide strict curfew restrictions on October 12 following Hyderpora Chalo (March to Hyderpora) call given by the APHC-G. Underground separatist leader Masrat Alam has called a march to Hyderpora residence of chairman of the APHC-G Syed Ali Shah Geelani who has been under house arrest for nearly one month now.

October 10, 2010: Stone-pelting incidents were reported from several parts of the Kashmir Valley, including Srinagar city, Sopore, Shopian and Pulwama towns, during a strike called by the All Party Hurriyat Conference-Geelani (APHC-G) led by Syed Ali Shah Geelani. Elsewhere in the Valley, the law and order situation remained by and large peaceful. Further, while Geelani remained under house arrest for the past 28 days, similar restrictions were imposed on chairman of APHC-Mirwaiz Mirwaiz Moulvi Omar Farooq.

October 7, 2010: At least three students were injured as protestors pelted stones at school buses at two places in Kashmir Valley, where the Syed Ali Shah Geelani led All Hurriyat Conference-Geelani (APHC-G)-sponsored strike disrupted life with shops and business establishments in the main markets closed and public transport off the roads.

October 5, 2010: Authorities imposed curfew in some parts of the Valley to foil the call for a march to Kupwara District given by All Party Hurriyat Conference-Geelani (APHC-Geelani) led by Syed Ali Shah Geelani even.

October 3, 2010: Chairman of both the factions of the All Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC), Syed Ali Shah Geelani of APHC-Geelani and Mirwaiz Omar of APHC-Mirwaiz remained under house arrest while other separatist leaders also remained confined to their homes because of curfew restrictions. Geelani remained under house arrest for the past 20 days.

September 29, 2010: Kashmir Valley returned to normalcy. As the law and order situation improved, the authorities lifted curfew from Kupwara and Ganderbal Districts. In addition, a Police spokesman said, "Curfew was relaxed in south, west and east zones of Srinagar city from 8.00 am to 10.00 am, but the relaxation was later extended till further orders." Meanwhile, All Party Hurriyat Conference-Geelani (APHC-G) Chairman Syed Ahmad Shah Geelani’s decision to exempt the day from strikes and protests saw a massive 26 per cent more students attend schools as many private educational institutions opened, two days after the Government announced its plans to restart learning process in the Valley even during curfew days. While only 41 per cent of the students had attended classes across Kashmir Valley on September 28, the figure on September 29 stood at 67 per cent.

September 27, 2010: Schools across Kashmir Valley reopened after remaining shut for 100 days due to civil disturbances. Attendance was, however, thin in the wake of All Party Hurriyat Conference–Geelani (APHC-G) leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani’s call to parents not to send their wards to schools and colleges. Further, the All Party Hurriyat Conference–Mirwaiz (APHC-M) rejected Centre’s latest initiative on Kashmir, saying it was "disappointing" as it reflected lack of willingness to meet the aspirations of the people. The APHC-G has already rejected the package as a "mere eye-wash".

September 26, 2010: Differences came to the fore among separatists as Mohammad Yasin Malik-led Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) took exception to All Party Hurriyat Conference-Geelani (APHC-G) leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani''s remarks that Jammu and Kashmir could not survive as an independent country. "We respect every leader and the party associated with the on-going movement in Kashmir. But, we request the leaders not to issue statements which can lead to chaos and confusion among the people," several JKLF leaders said in a statement. The leaders, without mentioning Geelani, were reacting to his interview to a private news channel on September 25 in which he had said Jammu and Kashmir would have to accede either to Pakistan or India as it could not survive as a sovereign State. The JKLF leaders said there were many countries smaller than Jammu and Kashmir in terms of resources, area and population which had survived. This is for the first time during the current unrest in the Valley that separatist leaders have publicly voiced their differences over resolution of the Kashmir issue.

September 14, 2010: The All Party Hurriyat Conference-Geelani (APHC-G), which is spearheading the agitation, issued a fresh 11-day protest calendar, calling for complete shutdowns barring September 19 and 22 and a march to the local office of United Nations Military Observers Group for India and Pakistan at Sonawar on September 20. According to the calendar, the APHC-G asked people to go for normal activities between 7pm to 7am during the strike days, seeking to reverse the biological clock.

September 13, 2010: Police arrested 52 activists of All Party Hurriyat Conference-Geelani (APHC-G) led by Syed Ali Shah Geelani and Muslim League headed by Massarat Aalam for allegedly instigating violence in the Budgam District. "From Budgam District alone, we have arrested 52 persons and all of them belonged to APHC-G and Muslim League," Director General of Police (DGP) Kuldeep Khoda told reporters. He said all the arrested persons were "caught in action" while fuelling violence in the District. Khoda said more arrests have been effected in other parts of the Valley and the figures were being consolidated.

The DGP also played out two intercepted telephonic conversations between a close associate of Geelani and a foot-worker talking about mobilising people for holding protests in Budgam. "You can very well draw conclusions how the crowds are being gathered and instigated to resort to violence," Khoda said. In one of the intercepts, Imtiyaz Haider, who is a close confidant of Geelani, tells the person on the other side to assemble people from Budgam and adjoining areas for holding protests. Although Haider purportedly talks about not attacking the Security Forces (SFs) or their installations, the DGP said "you have seen what happens after the people are gathered." Asked if the incidents of violence today were only due to the alleged desecration incident in the United States, Khoda said "the violence levels had been coming down but the alleged desecration which is yet to be ascertained gives an opportunity to the separatists to disrupt the situation."

September 12, 2010: Police registered cases against Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, chairman of All Party Hurriyat Conference-Mirwaiz (APHC-M) and other separatist leaders for allegedly inciting September 11 violence during which Government properties were set ablaze by mobs.

September 8, 2010: Police arrested All Party Hurriyat Conference-Geelani (APHC-G) leader Syed Ali Geelani from his residence in Srinagar and lodged him in a local police station, according to The Hindu. His arrest sparked protests in many areas. “Geelani had planned certain programmes which could have disturbed the public order. Anticipating the developments his plans would have caused, he was arrested and lodged in Police Post, Humhama,”. Police sources said Geelani would be kept in custody till Eid. He was earlier arrested on June 20 as a preventive measure after violence rocked Srinagar in the wake of the killing of youth in Srinagar. On June 23, he was booked under the Public Safety Act by the District Magistrate, Srinagar, for waging war against the State and lodged in the Chesmashahi jail. He was released on August 4, after which he called for peaceful protests. Before his arrest, Geelani warned that the APHC-G would intensify its protests if New Delhi refused to accept his five-point formula. Geelani said people should continue to follow the Hurriyat programme, but reiterated his appeal to youth to remain peaceful during their ‘pro-freedom’ demonstrations.

September 7, 2010: Curfew was clamped in Srinagar city and restrictions imposed in rest of the Valley as authorities apprehended large scale protests over the killing of four protesters in the Palhalan area of Baramulla District on September 6. Meanwhile, a Police spokesman said situation across the Valley remained by and large peaceful barring few stray incidents of stone pelting at Singhpora, Tappar in Baramulla, Chinkipora, Bomai in Sopore, Kangan Bazaar, near DC office in Shopian, Nowgam and Tengpora By pass in Srinagar. Meanwhile, the most wanted separatist leader, Massarat Alam Bhat, surfaced in Srinagar in the night of September 6, joining a protest and then addressing a gathering in a local mosque where he declared that “Kashmiris will soon get freedom”. He asked the people to continue the protest until “freedom is achieved,” adding, “This is a do-or-die situation for us.” Going against All Party Hurriyat Conference-Geelani (APHC-G) leader Syed Ahmad Shah Geelani’s call for peaceful protests, Alam justified stone-throwing, saying, “Any action targeted at Government Forces is legitimate.” He, however, asked the protesters not to target civilians.

September 6, 2010: Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said that the Centre would soon respond to the All Party Hurriyat Conference-Geelani (APHC-G) leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani’s five points pre-condition for talks and hinted at either phase withdrawal of Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) or softening some of its hard options. "The Central Government has several times stated that within and outside the Parliament that talks were the only solution to Kashmir problem’’, he said, adding that a unique solution had to be found to the problem since ikhlaq (accession) of the State was also held under unique circumstances. He made it clear that no individual represents the entire State or the Vaadi (Kashmir Valley).

August 31, 2010: The All Party Hurriyat Conference-Geelani (APHC-G) leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani said the ongoing protests could be reviewed and a dialogue with the Centre initiated if it fulfils five preconditions. Addressing a press conference the separatist leader said he was "responding to the willingness shown by Indian leadership to engage in a dialogue with Jammu and Kashmir leadership". Geelani, however, stuck to his stand that India must consider Jammu and Kashmir issue as an international dispute, but refrained from repeating his usual demands about implementation of UN resolutions and involvement of Pakistan in talks. Meanwhile, ruling out any talks with the Union Government at present, All Party Hurriyat Conference-Mirwaiz (APHC-M) Chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq said his faction has taken an initiative for unity among separatists under the present scenario. In an interview to a local news agency, KNS, he said APHC-M will get in touch with APHC-G chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani within two days in this connection. “We have formed a two member committee for establishing contact with other pro-freedom groups,” Mirwaiz said. He rejected autonomy and self-rule.

December 5, 2009: Mirwaiz Umar Farooq has called for a general strike in the Valley as a mark of protest. He told that the elements behind the attack were scared that their shops will be shut in case of resolution of Kashmir issue through a dialogue process. He asserted that talks with India and Pakistan for resolution of Kashmir issue will go ahead. Chief Minister Omar Abdullah described the attack as a well-thought out attempt to derail the peace process. "It is the most unfortunate incident and a well thought out attempt to derail the peace process and deny people of the State a peaceful atmosphere they have a right to," Omar said. Describing Qureshi as a pro-dialogue individual and among the most reasonable separatist leaders, Omar said he was one of the separatist leaders who wanted to find a solution to the Kashmir problem at the negotiating table. The Chief Minister said Qureshi was offered security on various occasions but he turned it down. A member of the decision-making Executive Committee of the Hurriyat Conference, Qureshi had played a key role in facilitating talks between the Hizb-ul-Mujahideen (HM) and the Government in 2000 following a cease-fire in July that year. He was also part of the Hurriyat delegation that held talks with the then Deputy Prime Minister L. K. Advani in 2004.

October 14, 2009: Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram said the Centre will hold talks with mainstream political parties like National Conference, People''s Democratic Party, Congress and other smaller parties. Without naming any separatist outfit, he added that the dialogue process will also include other groups which are not organized and are referred to as extremists. However, the Home Minister declined to answer a question as to whether a formal invitation will be extended to the groups like the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC). On the alleged non-implementation of reports submitted by the working groups formed after Round Table Conference convened by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in 2005, the Home Minister said "these reports are being absorbed in our Kashmir plan. It is not right that these are being ignored."

April 23, 2009: A faction of the separatist All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) issued a boycott call for the ongoing Lok Sabha elections in the State saying elections have no locus standi in the resolution of Kashmir issue. Seeking to clarify the earlier statement of the amalgam about not giving a boycott call, Hurriyat chairman Mirwaiz Umer Farooq said "we have asked the people to stay away from the futile exercise of elections which means that they should boycott the polls." Asked if the Hurriyat will launch a boycott campaign, he said leaders and the units of the amalgam were already out in the field trying to make people aware about their duties and responsibilities towards the "freedom movement". 

Umer, who chaired a two-day emergency session of the Hurriyat, said elections in the State will have no bearing on the status of the Kashmir issue as there are United Nations resolutions and international laws which hold that elections have no locus standi in disputed regions. "United Nations resolutions are clear that elections held in the State have no bearing on the Kashmir issue. Elections have been held since 1947 in the State but have failed to yield a solution. Elections cannot be a substitute to right to self determination," he added. He said there were many examples whereby elections were held in conflict zones after reaching a settlement and not before that. Mirwaiz reiterated that Kashmir was a political problem and not a territorial or border dispute between India and Pakistan which the two countries can resolve bilaterally. Last week, the Hurriyat Conference had said it will not issue a boycott call for the elections as it was a non-issue for the amalgam and will leave the decision to vote or not to vote to the conscience of the people.

April 16, 2009: A faction of the separatist All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) headed by Mirwaiz Umar Farroq said it will leave to the conscience of the voters whether to vote or not during the forthcoming Lok Sabha (lower house of parliament) elections in the State. "We will have to call a spade a spade. Boycott in Jammu and Kashmir is not possible. The people in Jammu will vote, Ladakh will vote, Bhaderwah, Kishtwar and Doda will vote the frontier regions will vote. That is why we will not use the term boycott but elections remains a non-issue for Hurriyat and it will not affect Kashmir issue," former chairman of Hurriyat Conference Abdul Gani Bhat told reporters in Srinagar.

The other Hurriyat faction led by Syed Ali Shah Geelani has already called for a boycott of the elections and a general strike on the days of polling. Although elections were held for the Jammu-Poonch Lok Sabha seat on April 16, the strike call had no effect on the normal life in the Valley. Bhat said Hurriyat will go to the people and tell them consider the fact that pro-India politicians were gloating about the results of the Assembly elections. "We have been talking about this issue (boycott) for past three-four months. We will ask the people to consider the pro-India leadership gloating about the results of previous elections. We will leave the decision to the people," he said. He said while his faction of Hurriyat did not deny the right of other separatists to call for boycott of the elections, they should also not be denied their right to call the polls a non-issue.

January 11, 2009: Nasir Safi Mir, alleged to be the ‘financial brain’ behind All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) Chairman Mirwaiz Umer Farooq and other separatist leaders, has managed to flee the country after getting a forged passport from a southern State even as Delhi Police claimed that they were still looking for him. Mir against whom a non-bailable warrant was issued, had allegedly bribed some officials of a southern State and made his passport after which he took a route to Nepal and then to Europe. From Europe he was reported to have flown to Libya before finally reaching Dubai, sources said. Mir, was earlier arrested by Delhi Police in February 2006 while ferrying INR 5500000 from a Delhi-based jeweler along with some explosives, but had jumped parole which he had got after several requests made by his family to the court citing medical problems. The 38-year-old Dubai-based businessman, who owns a carpet showroom and money exchange firms in Gulf, had been regularly reporting to the nearest police station till October 2008, but after that he did not turn up either at the police station nor on the hearing date of the court. According to recent technical intercepts, Mir allegedly spoke to the separatist leadership after reaching Dubai.

January 23, 2008: All the separatist and militant groups in Jammu and Kashmir have called for a general strike on January 26 and to observe the Republic day as "black day", while security arrangements have been tightened ahead of the occasion across the State. Security arrangements have been geared up as the security forces have intensified search operations and security checks across the valley. These have been further intensified in and around Bakshi Stadium, the venue of main Republic day celebrations and also around the vital installations in the summer capital. Both factions of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC), Mirwaiz and Geelani, and other constituent groups and the militant outfits have called for a general strike on the occasion and asked the people to remain indoors.

January 14, 2008: Senior separatist leader Shabir Ahmad Shah formally joined the secessionist conglomerate the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) and invited breakaway Hurriyat leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani for talks to clarify on his six-point unity formula. Shah announced his decision in the presence of APHC chairman, Mirwaiz Omar Farooq, at the martyrs’ graveyard at Idgah in capital Srinagar. Shah said that the APHC leaders would launch a State-wide campaign making it an organisation at the grassroots level in all three regions of Kashmir, Ladakah and Jammu.

2007

November 4, 2007: Police arrested G M Bhat, a close associate of All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani from Srinagar following disclosures made by three hawala (illegal money transfer) operators, who were arrested from Udhampur on November 3, 2007 along wit a hawala consignment of INR 4.6 million. The operators revealed that the money was being smuggled for Bhat from New Delhi to Srinagar. Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Police Udhampur range Alok Puri, confirming the arrest of Bhat said that a case against Bhat has been registered in FIR No. 252 under Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act along with three other accused.

June 8, 2007: A purported al Qaeda compact disc (CD) is reported to have referred to Kashmir as "gateway of Jihad against India". The Government of India has reportedly ordered an investigation to judge the authenticity of the CD that carried a recorded statement of an Urdu speaking masked gunman. Personnel of the Srinagar-based Kashmir News Service told that an unidentified man delivered a CD besides a five-page statement in Urdu, purportedly from chief of "Al-Qaeda Fil Hind", Abu Abdul Rehman Ansari. The statement, read out in Urdu in the CD by a masked gunman, Abu Ibrahim Al-Aasim, criticized all factions of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) and the Muzaffarabad-based alliance of militant outfits, Muttahida Jihad Council (MJC) for "misleading the Kashmiris into the quagmire of UN resolutions and politics of shutdowns and demonstrations."

April 18, 2007: Chairman of the separatist All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC), Mirwaiz (a hereditary title of one of Kashmir's important religious seats, and also head priest of the Jamia Masjid) Umar Farooq, has rejected the Centre's invitation for Prime Minister's 3rd Round Table Conference on Kashmir, scheduled to be held in New Delhi on April 24. He said that the Hurriyat would participate only in such a political exercise that would involve “leadership from both sides” including the Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf and the Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Mirwaiz Umar said during a public meeting at Sumbal that “If President Musharraf and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh were to be present with top leadership from both countries and all parts of Jammu and Kashmir, Hurriyat would not hesitate to participate in the Round Table Conference.” He also urged the Centre to announce a cease-fire in Jammu and Kashmir, and claimed that the Hurriyat will persuade the militant leadership to reciprocate, UNI reported. “If India takes one step, we will take ten. If India announces complete cease-fire, the Hurriyat Conference will persuade the militant leadership to reciprocate,” he said.

April 4, 2007: The Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) has called for the formation of an 'Elders Council'-comprising both factions of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC), Bar Association and Kashmiri intellectuals - and asked the Kashmiri separatist leaders to unite on one platform "at this crucial juncture." LeT spokesman Abdullah Ghaznavi asked the two factions of the separatist Hurriyat Conference to unite on one platform "at this crucial juncture" and salvage the "freedom movement" from the quagmire of failure. "If the (split) Hurriyat leaders failed to sink their differences and unite on one platform and a solution (of the Kashmir problem), not in accordance with the aspirations of the Kashmiri people was allowed to be imposed, history would never forgive these leaders," the spokesman said. He added that the "freedom movement" had entered into a critical phase and required to be actively guided by an "Elders Council" comprising leaders of the united Hurriyat, Kashmir Bar Association and Kashmiri intellectuals.

February 22, 2007: India and Pakistan should not allow incidents like the Samjhauta Express blasts to disrupt the ongoing talks and both the countries should "institutionalise" and "take forward" the ongoing peace process in the larger interest of their people, the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) said. "Delhi and Islamabad must institutionalise and consolidate peace process so that people-centric CBMs are taken and the ground situation in Jammu and Kashmir improves," Hurriyat chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq told reporters after an almost two-hour-meeting with the visiting Pakistan Foreign Minister Khursheed Mahmood Kasuri at the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi. "The peace process must be taken forward and Hurriyat supports both India and Pakistan for this initiative," Farooq said.

February 2, 2007: Islamabad Police arrested 40 students of a Madrassa (seminary) in connection with a protest demonstration by the banned Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) held during the visit of an All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) delegation. Islamabad Senior Superintendent of Police Sikandar Hayat said the police initially arrested 100 students, of which 40 were identified with the help of a video of the protest. The students had protested against the APHC, which supports resolution of the Kashmir issue through dialogue. Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz and President Pervez Musharraf had reportedly expressed displeasure with the city administration for allowing the banned group to organise the demonstration.

January 31, 2007: In the second attack by militants targeting the separatist All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) in three weeks, militants hurled a grenade on the headquarters of the group at Rajbagh in the capital Srinagar. The grenade exploded in the compound, without causing any damage. None of the top Hurriyat leaders was present in the office when the grenade was hurled. The grenade attack comes in the wake of threats from militant outfits for the statement by APHC Chief Mirwaiz Umar Farooq during his recent tour to Pakistan that separatist violence in Jammu and Kashmir had failed to achieve anything.

January 23, 2007: In Pakistan, the visiting All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) leader Mirwaiz Umer Farooq met several members of the United Jihad Council (UJC), an amalgam of various Pakistan-based terrorist groups, and sought their co-operation for the peace process between India and Pakistan, Press Trust of India reported. "There are many groups and leaders from the UJC who are supportive of the process. In the UJC, there are about 18 parties. People have been coming individually and meeting us. There are groups and leaders. They are quite keen that this process should move further," Farooq said. His remarks came ahead of a conference of moderate leaders convened by him and the political leadership of Pakistan occupied-Kashmir on January 26. However, the Mirwaiz clarified that he had no meeting with HM Chief Syed Salahuddin, who is also the Chairman of the UJC.

January 21, 2007: The United Jihad Council (UJC), a conglomerate of Pakistan-based terrorist groups, has rejected the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq’s call to give up armed struggle to pave way for a peaceful negotiated settlement of the Kashmir issue. Militant leaders have been shocked by the "baseless" and "uncalled" for statement of the Mirwaiz and his colleagues who are "ignorant of the background and realities of Kashmir issue," a spokesman for the UJC said in a statement issued from Muzaffarabad, capital of the Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK). "The statement of Mirwaiz may please some Western circles and Indian leaders, but it cannot change the ground realities," he said referring to Farooq’s comments that it was time to give up armed struggle to pave way for fruitful negotiations to reach a lasting settlement of the Kashmir issue.

January 19, 2007: The All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) Chairman, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, called for giving up armed struggle to pave the way for fruitful negotiations for a lasting settlement of the Kashmir issue. The Mirwaiz (a hereditary title of one of Kashmir's important religious seats, and also head priest of the Jamia Masjid in Srinagar), who along with other senior leaders of the APHC, is on a visit to Pakistan, stated this after a series of meetings in Islamabad, including talks with President Pervez Musharraf. Speaking at a dinner meeting with Azad Kashmir (Pakistan occupied Kashmir) Prime Minister Sardar Attique, the APHC leader said peaceful negotiations were the only way out. According to him, "We have already seen the results of our fight on the political, diplomatic and military fronts which have not achieved anything other than creating more graveyards." The Mirwaiz said some people involved in the struggle could still have some reservations, but as far as the APHC was concerned, "we are not prepared to sacrifice any more of our loved ones." He said with their new strategy they would convince India to arrive at a more agreeable settlement.

Earlier in the day, the APHC leaders held a meeting with President Pervez Musharraf, which reportedly focused on the President’s proposals which include self-governance, demilitarisation and joint control of the territory. Meanwhile, even as this meeting was underway, hundreds of Jihadis and their supporters from the hard-line Islamic groups reportedly protested on the streets of Islamabad, condemning any attempt to compromise on Pakistan’s long-standing position on Kashmir.

January 17, 2007: The call for a shutdown by a faction of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) led by Syed Ali Shah Geelani affected normal life in the capital Srinagar. Over 50 vehicles were damaged in stone pelting by Geelani followers at different places. The shutdown call was given by Geelani seeking Jammu and Kashmir’s protest against the rival faction chief Mirwaiz Umar Farooq’s visit to Pakistan as also his efforts to enter a dialogue process, separately with India and Pakistan, over the Kashmir issue. The call was reportedly supported by the Hizb-ul-Mujahideen.

January 15, 2007: Suspected militants carried out a grenade blast at the house of All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) Chairman, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, in the Nageen area of Capital Srinagar. However, no loss of life or injuries was reported. The Mirwaiz, who was in Jammu at the time of the attack, said he would not be cowed down by such attempts, according to Indian Express. The explosion was reportedly claimed by the Save Kashmir Movement. Farooq is to leave for New Delhi on January 17 and then travel to Pakistan for a dialogue with President Pervez Musharraf.

December 17, 2006: The United Jihad Council (UJC) has decided to step up its political and diplomatic activities to push for Kashmir’s accession to Pakistan, after what it perceives is Pakistan’s shifting stance on Kashmir. Sources privy to a two-day meeting of the UJC held recently in Muzaffarabad, the capital of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (Pakistan occupied Kashmir [PoK]), told that the council’s leadership expressed serious concern over a recent Foreign Office statement that Pakistan has never called Kashmir an integral part of the country. The leaders opined that it was time for the UJC “to come out of its slumber” the sources said. “Most of the council members and close aides of Syed Salahuddin, the Chief of the UJC and Hizbul Mujahiddeen, asked him to come forward and play his role,” the sources said. The leaders felt that this would also strengthen Syed Ali Shah Geelani, chief of a hard-line faction of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC). The meeting also reportedly decided to continue the “freedom movement” in Kashmir regardless of any shift in Pakistan’s Kashmir policy.

November 30, 2006: The moderate faction of All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) on made a fresh offer of talks with the Union Government and said the concept of self-rule needed to be debated at the people’s level on either side of the Line of Control. "We are willing to meet the Indian leadership provided they are willing to do so. There might be some hiccups in the dialogue process but we are hopeful that these would be overcome", former APHC chief Abdul Gani Bhat said after a meeting of the executive committee of the amalgam in Srinagar. 

November 16, 2006: Suspected militants hurled a hand grenade at a paramilitary post outside the ancestral home of Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, Chairman of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC), in the capital Srinagar, injuring a woman passer-by. The grenade missed the target and exploded after hitting the wall of the home of Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, who is currently visiting Egypt, said Sajjad Ahmed, a Police Officer. Farooq reportedly doesn't live in his ancestral home and the building currently houses the office of the Awami Action Committee, a party started by his father in the 1970s. 

July 17, 2006: All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) Chairman Mirwaiz Moulvi Omar Farooq said that any move to discontinue peace process between India and Pakistan at this stage would be "very unfortunate." In Srinagar, he said, “There are elements in India, Pakistan and within the Jammu and Kashmir who, for their self interests, are opposed to the process” who do not want the Kashmir issue to be resolved.

May 10, 2006: The United Jihad Council (UJC), an alliance of Pakistan-based terrorist groups, termed talks with India futile and warned the moderate All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) that “fruitless talks” with India would spoil Kashmiris’ sacrifices. “Kashmiri politicians who have pinned their hopes on the Delhi Durbar about the (solution to the) Kashmir issue are wasting (their) time. They have not learnt any lesson from fruitless talks of the past 55 years,”. The alliance was responding to a statement by Mirwaiz Umar Farooq after his APHC faction’s meeting with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in which he reportedly said that a system would be evolved for future talks (with the Indian government) and Mujahideen would also be included in the process.

April 28, 2006: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh invited the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) for the next round of talks on May 3, 2006 ahead of the second Kashmir roundtable conference in Srinagar on May 25, 2006. The Prime Minister’s Office announced that Dr. Singh will meet representatives of the Hurriyat Conference, led by Mirwaiz Umar Farooq. After receiving the invitation in Srinagar, the Mirwaiz (a hereditary title of one of Kashmir's important religious seats, and also head priest of the Jamia Masjid) termed as "good and appropriate" the Prime Minister’s decision. "It is a good and appropriate decision. The main problem is between New Delhi and the Hurriyat Conference. Therefore, New Delhi should hold talks with the separatists only," he said. He claimed that the second round of talks with the Prime Minister will be in continuation with the "triangular dialogue process" between India, Pakistan and the Hurriyat Conference. The first round of talks was held in New Delhi on September 5, 2005.

April 23, 2006: The Government has said the separatist groups in Jammu and Kashmir did not have a "veto" on the "success or otherwise" of the second roundtable conference to be held in Srinagar on May 25, 2006. At the same time, it maintained that efforts were on to tell the separatists to "recognise the validity and utility of participation" in the meeting to be presided over by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on May 25. "I don’t think the success of the roundtable depends on the attendance of any group — A, B or C... In any case, I don’t think the separatists have a veto on the success or otherwise (of the roundtable)," National Security Adviser M K Narayanan said in New Delhi. Narayanan said "if the separatists feel that they can’t discuss their issues and positions.... It is nothing that we can do about it". The first roundtable conclave, chaired by the Prime Minister, was held in New Delhi on February 25, 2006. Hashim Qureshi of the Jammu Kashmir Democratic Liberation Party was the only separatist leader present at the meeting while others, including both factions of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) led by Syed Ali Shah Geelani and Mirwaiz Umar Farooq respectively, the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) led by Yaseen Malik and separatist leader Shabir Shah, did not attend the meeting.

April 12, 2006: Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil said that the security situation in Jammu and Kashmir had started showing significant improvement, leading to increased flow of tourists and pilgrims. Referring to the peace initiatives launched by the Centre in Jammu and Kashmir, including discussions held by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh with the All Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC) and other groups, he said the Centre was using a multi-pronged policy to restore peace and normalcy in the State.

March 28, 2006: The All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) Chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq said that China should also be made a party for resolving the Kashmir issue as it had control over a large chunk of the territory. Addressing the final round of a Kashmir Conference at the World Social Forum in Karachi, he said: "The All Parties Hurriyat Conference is preparing a roadmap-2020 for the resolution of this dispute in which we will also recommend for the inclusion of China as a party."

February 20, 2006: The separatist All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) has reportedly rejected Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's invitation and decided to stay away from his roundtable conference on Jammu & Kashmir, which is being held in New Delhi on February 25. The Hurriyat took this decision at a joint session of its Executive Council, Working Committee and General Council in Srinagar. "Today Hurriyat took the unanimous decision of not participating in the roundtable meeting as it believed such a step would harm the dialogue process and lead to further confusion", Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, the APHC Chief, read out from a statement. "Hurriyat is not averse to New Delhi's consultation process with others. But it believes that for permanent resolution of the Kashmir crisis, Governments of India and Pakistan shall have to essentially deal with those people who have been treating Jammu and Kashmir as a disputed territory from day one", Mirwaiz added.

January 10, 2006: Widening the dialogue in Jammu and Kashmir beyond the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) for the first time, the Centre invited separatist leader Sajjad Lone of the People’s Conference for talks with Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh on January 14 to find a solution to the Kashmir issue. Sajjad Lone, younger son of assassinated Hurriyat leader Abdul Gani Lone, was asked to come for talks as part of the Central Government’s efforts to find a resolution to the Kashmir issue. The Centre has indicated that it would hold talks with a cross-section of the separatist leaders from Jammu and Kashmir. The Prime Minister had held talks with a delegation of the APHC in New Delhi on September 5, 2005. Sajjad, who parted ways with his elder brother Bilal in 2005 and claimed to be the original People’s Conference, said he had been invited by the Prime Minister and a five-member delegation of his party would be coming to hold talks.

January 6, 2006: It is not possible to have complete independence of Kashmir under present circumstances and therefore a policy of co-existence acceptable to India, Pakistan and Kashmiris should be adopted, Mirwaiz Umer Farooq, All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) Chairman. The Mirwaiz (a hereditary title of one of Kashmir's important religious seats, and also head priest of the Jamia Masjid in Srinagar) is currently visiting Pakistan as head of the APHC delegation to express solidarity with the survivors of the October 8, 2005 earthquake. During his stay, he met many Pakistani leaders and reportedly discussed with them the latest proposals for the resolution of the Kashmir issue. Mirwaiz said self-governance and de-militarisation of Kashmir could be an interim arrangement under which the people of Kashmir could get a sense of "being masters of their own destiny." He said sticking to traditional positions was no solution and the idea of self-governance could provide the way out. The APHC was setting up an office in Islamabad to keep in contact with the Kashmir Jihad Council and Pakistani political parties, Mirwaiz added. Commenting on militancy in the Kashmir Valley, Mirwaiz claimed the political leadership in Kashmir needed the support of the Mujahideen. "Actually, there is a need to channelise the movement, which is being fought on different fronts. The militants will have to work in tandem with the Kashmiri leadership. Nothing will happen in isolation," he said.

September 17, 2005: In their third interaction in five months, All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) Chairman, Mirwaiz Umer Farooq, met the Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf in New York and extended full support to the India-Pakistan dialogue but expressed regret over the "slow" pace of the peace process. During the meeting at Roosevelt Hotel, Farooq reportedly briefed Gen. Musharraf on the first-ever talks the Hurriyat leaders had with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in New Delhi on September 5. "This is our attempt to find a lasting solution to the Kashmir issue so that we could see a peaceful South Asia… For the first time, we, the Kashmiris feel we are being involved into it. But, the pace of the talks process is slow," Farooq said after the meeting.

September 5, 2005: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh held talks with leaders of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) faction led by Mirwaiz Umar Farooq in New Delhi and assured that conditions will be created for reduction of armed forces in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) if there is a cessation of violence and an end to infiltration. During the two-and-a-half hour long discussion with a five-member Hurriyat delegation headed by Farooq, he agreed to review cases of all those held in detention and to a time-bound review of those held under the Public Safety Act (PSA) and the now defunct Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA). A press release issued after the talks said it was agreed to carry forward the dialogue process so that all shades of political opinion in J&K are involved. Handing out the release, Prime Minister’s Media Advisor Sanjaya Baru told that talks would continue for which no date has been fixed. The Mirwaiz said after the meeting that the Hurriyat welcomed the Centre’s decision for a time-bound review of cases of detenues booked under PSA and POTA. He said the talks with the Prime Minister were a step in the right direction and "we made it clear that these should result in a movement forward as far as Kashmir is concerned."

September 2, 2005: The moderate faction of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) announced a five-member delegation team comprising former Hurriyat Chairmen Abdul Gani Bhatt and Maulana Abbas Ansari, Bilal Gani Lone and Fazal Haq Qureshi. Farooq said the talks would be Kashmir centric and issues like Armed Forces Special Powers Act, Disturbed Areas Act, human rights violation and release of prisoners would also be discussed.

September 2, 2005: The moderate faction of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) decided to send a six-member delegation led by its chairman Mirwaiz Umer Farooq for talks with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in New Delhi on September 5. "It was unanimously decided to accept the invitation for talks by the Prime Minister of India, Manmohan Singh, with a view to proceed with seriousness, imagination and courage to find an acceptable and durable solution to issue of Jammu and Kashmir in the larger interests of the people of the region," said spokesperson Abdul Majid Banday after a joint meeting of the Executive Committee, General Council and Working Committee of the APHC in Srinagar.

August 31, 2005: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh invited the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) faction led by Mirwaiz Umar Farooq for talks in New Delhi on September 5. Farooq, who will lead the delegation, accepted the invitation for the talks that will take place nine days ahead of Dr. Singh’s meeting with the Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf in New York. "The Prime Minister has invited Hurriyat chairman and other leaders for talks," the Prime Minister’s Media Adviser Sanjaya Baru said in Delhi. "It was our demand that the talks should be held at the highest level. So we have agreed to meet the Prime Minister on the scheduled date," Farooq said in Srinagar. He also said a joint meeting of the Hurriyat Executive Committee, General Council and Working Committee will be held today, September 1, to work out a strategy for the talks, the first with the Congress-led coalition Government since it came to power in May 2004.

July 19, 2005: The separatist All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) held its first ever meeting with the Kashmiri Pandits (descendents of Brahmin priests) in which the two sides resolved that members of the displaced community should return to the Kashmir Valley with a deeper sense of security and dignity. After an eight-hour-long meeting in Srinagar, APHC Chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq said the Kashmiri Pandits’ return to the Valley with a deeper sense of security and dignity unmistakably required a favourable environment. Both sides agreed to hold the next meeting at Jammu in the last week of August 2005 to further strengthen the move.

July 8, 2005: Speaking in London, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh rejected the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) demand for early elections in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K). However, Dr. Singh declared that the doors of the Government were always open for dialogue with any group willing to eschew violence. "Question of holding elections will arise when elections are due next time," Dr Singh said while addressing a press conference at the India House. Asserting that free and fair polls have been held in J&K, he said this has been acknowledged by competent and objective election observers.

June 26, 2005: A ‘commander’ of the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF), Abdul Ahad Waza, revealed in Srinagar that the Pakistani Information Minister Sheikh Rashid’s Rawalpindi mansion was not only used as a guesthouse for Kashmiri recruits but also as an arms storage for the trainee militants in the 1987-92 period. He said that Sheikh Rashid’s farmhouse at Fateh Jung, known as ‘safe house’, functioned as a transit camp for JKLF militants organised by Amanullah Khan and the same was guarded by "men of Pakistani Army in civvies." Abdul Ahad Waza of Lidarwan in the Kupwara District, who was a functionary of the Syed Ali Shah Geelani faction of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) until recently, told that he stayed at the ‘safe house’ several times in 1988.

June 24, 2005: The Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) Prime Minister, Sardar Sikandar Hayat, questioned the representative character of the separatist All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) saying it did not cover all regions of Jammu and Kashmir. "How can we accept any decision (on Kashmir) by those who live under compulsions, do not have unity among themselves and lack representation of all regions," he said while speaking in the PoK Legislative Assembly. The Hurriyat had not come out from a specific area, he said, and no one from the Jammu region had visited PoK and Pakistan. "The decision of the Kashmiris from both sides, including the non-Muslims, will be welcomed but implementing a decision of one faction or an area cannot be accepted," he added.

June 24, 2005: Syed Ali Shah Geelani, leader of the breakaway faction of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC), alleged that the moderate faction of the amalgam was "sabotaging the Kashmir cause." "Those desperately trying to seek a dialogue with the Centre are responsible for maligning the dignity of the people and the Kashmir cause," Geelani claimed during a Friday congregation at Kalipora-Shopian in south Kashmir. "By sending applications to Delhi for a dialogue, these people are insulting the people of Jammu and Kashmir," he added.

June 22, 2005: The All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) said that it is awaiting a formal response from the Centre to its offer of holding an "unconditional" dialogue with Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh at a "date and venue" convenient to him. "We have already conveyed to the Indian Government our willingness to hold an unconditional dialogue with the Prime Minister at any time and place convenient to him," Hurriyat Chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq said in Srinagar at his first press conference after the return of a seven-member Hurriyat delegation from its two-week visit of Pakistan and Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK). "India should show seriousness and immediately initiate the dialogue process to resolve the Kashmir issue… We have already conveyed to India our willingness to talk...We are ready. The ball is now in India’s court," the Mirwaiz (a hereditary title of one of Kashmir's important religious seats) said. He also claimed that the Hurriyat leaders have certain ideas to put forth before the Indian leadership which will help resolves the long-festering issue.

June 20, 2005: Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh has rejected the former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee's assertion that the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Government had "mishandled" the visit of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) to Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK). Dr. Singh was responding to Vajpayee's charge (in a letter dated June 15) that "the peace process with Pakistan has taken [a disturbing turn]." In his reply, the Prime Minister said "it is our endeavour to take the composite dialogue between India and Pakistan forward while ensuring that India's vital interests are fully safeguarded." Dr. Singh's letter was released by the Bharatiya Janata Party in New Delhi. Dr. Singh stated that by inviting the Hurriyat leaders to visit Islamabad "Pakistan violated an understanding on these procedures that had been reached between India and Pakistan." He informed the former Prime Minister that "passports were issued to those Hurriyat leaders who did not possess Indian passports and [who] made a request for the issue of such documents."

June 20, 2005: The Centre rejected the All Parties Hurriyat Conference’s (APHC) demand for inclusion in the India-Pakistan dialogue process but said the separatist alliance could give its suggestions for the resolution of the Kashmir issue. "There is no question of involving Hurriyat in the Indo-Pak talks," Union Minister of State for Home, Sriprakash Jaiswal, told in Dehradun. Stating that the Government was ready to hold a dialogue with any group in Kashmir over the issue, the Minister added "Now the onus lies on Hurriyat Conference as to when they want to come forward in this regard." Chairman of one of the Hurriyat factions, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, who along with eight separatist leaders had visited Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) and Pakistan earlier this month, had said that the alliance should be included in the India-Pakistan dialogue process to find an amicable solution to the Kashmir issue.

June 16, 2005: The Jammu and Kashmir Jamaat-e-Islami, a constituent of the hard-line faction of All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC), said that it has suspended pro-Pakistan leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani and his three associates from its advisory council. Geelani was replaced by Ghulam Mohammad Bhat in the Majlis-i-Shoora, the top decision making body. Jamaat-e-Islami chief Nazir Ahmed Kashani said the decision was taken two months ago during a meeting which was attended by all members except Geelani and his three associates. However, Geelani was informed of the decision only "recently", he added.

June 16, 2005: Leaders of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) and Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) returned to Srinagar after a two-week visit to Pakistan and Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) during which they held talks with the political and terrorist leadership for resolving the Kashmir issue. Hurriyat Chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq described the visit as "successful" and said the APHC was ready to resume the stalled dialogue process with the Union Government, if invited for talks. "We have never shied away from the talks. We are ready for unconditional talks with New Delhi, if invited, but the discussions should be on the resolution of the Kashmir issue."

June 8, 2005: The All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) Chairman Mirwaiz Omar Farooq while addressing a press conference in Islamabad said, "The UN has miserably failed to get its resolutions implemented and, therefore, the APHC leadership is duty bound to explore other options as well for the resolution of the core issue of Kashmir". The APHC Chairman was flanked by all the other visiting Hurriyat leaders, except Yasin Malik, the Chairman of Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front. However, when asked about details, Mirwaiz said these options were still in the preliminary stages and being discussed.

June 7, 2005: Pakistani President General Pervez Musharraf met the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) leaders at the Aiwan-e-Sadr in Islamabad and stated that a permanent settlement of the decades-old Jammu and Kashmir dispute is only possible if it takes into account wishes and aspirations of the Kashmiri people. The APHC leaders who met him were Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, Professor Abdul Ghani Bhat, Maulana Abbas Ansari, Muhammad Abdullah Tari, Bilal Ghani Lone Fazal-e-Haq Qureshi and Yasin Malik. The President also said that the status quo was unacceptable to Pakistan and there has to be forward movement so that the legitimate aspirations of the Kashmiri people are realised.

June 5, 2005: Mirwaiz Umer Farooq, acting Chairman of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC), and Yasin Malik, the Chairman of his own faction of the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF), met Hizb-ul-Mujahideen (HM) 'Supreme Commander' Syed Salahuddin separately in Islamabad. The HM Chief made it clear to Mirwaiz and Malik that if Syed Ali Shah Geelani was not included in the peace process, the Hizb would not accept any solution of the Kashmir issue.

June 5, 2005: The exclusion of Syed Ali Shah Geelani and Jehadi outfits from the ongoing peace process would not have any adverse effect on it, the visiting All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) delegation claimed. Hurriyat leaders, Maulana Abbas Ansari and Bilal Ghani Lone, told that "individuals" who did not wish to support the peace process should come out of their belief that their absence would obstruct the process. Another APHC leader Abdul Ghani Bhatt also supported their point of view but said it would be better if Jehadi outfits were also involved in the dialogue process. "There are two types of people in our society – the people who represent the brighter side of a picture and the people who represent the darker side," Bhatt added.

June 3, 2005: Leaders of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) urged Kashmiris on both sides of the Line of Control (LoC) to draw up a joint plan to peacefully resolve the issue. They were addressing members of the Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) Council and PoK Legislative Assembly in Muzaffarabad, capital of PoK. Mirwaiz Omar Farooq said they have come to PoK with "solid proposals" for the solution of the Kashmir issue. He also said he wants to share these proposals with the leadership of PoK and Pakistan. "The issue will only be resolved after all the three major parties are included in the peace process," he claimed. Bilal Ghani Lone said Kashmiri leaders have committed mistakes and when people ask questions about it the leadership has no answers. "People are still with us in our struggle. But we need a better approach and strategy," Bilal said. Another Hurriyat leader, Abbas Ansari, said Kashmiris should be included in the peace talks. "Agreement should not be made on our blood. The real party concerned to the dispute is Kashmiris and they must be included in the talks," he is reported to have said.

June 2, 2005: Leaders of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) from Jammu and Kashmir arrived in Muzaffarabad, capital of the Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK). "We have proposed triangular talks between India, Pakistan and the Kashmiris," said APHC leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq at a press conference. "We have come on Pakistan government’s invitation for talks with the Kashmiri leadership here. We hope our discussion would help seek a solution of the Kashmir issue, acceptable to all parties," he added. After a two-day stay in PoK, the APHC leaders are expected to travel to Islamabad to meet President Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz.

May 24, 2005: President Musharraf said: "This is another sensitive issue. I feel the true representatives of Kashmiris are the All Parties Hurriyat Conference, the APHC. We feel that there has to be a trilateral arrangement where Kashmiris become part of the dialogue process."

November 15, 2004: All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) Chairman Mirwaiz Omer Farooq said "definitely we would sit and talk if invited. If the Indian Prime Minister wants to take any initiative towards the political solution to the Kashmir problem, we would seriously consider it." He added that "we have decided if any invitation is extended, we would sit and talk, but at the same time we want to make it clear that since two rounds of talks have already taken place with the Indian Government, when NDA was in power, it is important now that the Government of India permits the Hurriyat leaders to visit Pakistan, and then the process of talks would be really meaningful."

May 21, 2004: Maulana Abbas Ansari, Chief of a faction of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC), offered to step down as Chairman for the sake of greater unity among Kashmiri separatists and invited the estranged leadership to join back the Hurriyat fold within a month. While naming the former Chairman Mirwaiz Omar Farooq as new head of the group, Ansari opined that Pakistan alone could not decide their future. Ansari said "I’m ready to step down as the chairman of the Hurriyat for the sake of unity. I’m giving them (Jamaat-e-Islami, JKLF, Peoples League [Sheikh Aziz group]) one month to rejoin and let founder chairman of the Hurriyat, Mirwaiz be the new chairman of the conglomerate." Meanwhile, senior separatist leaders Syed Ali Shah Geelani and Sheikh Abdul Aziz dismissed Ansari’s offer of stepping down as the Hurriyat Chairman for greater unity as "utterly absurd". Geelani claimed that Ansari had no locus standi to quit or offer the Hurriyat Chairmanship to anybody as he had been removed from the separatist platform by the alliance’s General Council.

January 18, 2004: The All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) said that it wanted to hold talks with the militant leadership in Pakistan on Kashmir issue after parleys with the Indian Government and threatened to pull out of the dialogue process if the Government refuses permission to its leaders to travel to the neighbouring country. "We are going to go ahead with the talks with Government (in New Delhi on January 22). In the second phase, we would like to travel to Pakistan to take the Kashmiri and militant leadership across the Line of Control into confidence," Hurriyat chief Maulana Mohammad Abbas Ansari said. If the Centre refuses to allow the Hurriyat delegation to go to Pakistan, it would return to the Kashmir valley and pull out of the talks process, he added.

October 6, 2003: General Secretary of the breakaway All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) faction, Masrat Alam, was arrested under the Public Safety Act (PSA) from his Tankipora residence in Srinagar, capital city of Jammu and Kashmir.

September 15, 2003: Syed Ali Shah Geelani was appointed as the Chairman of the breakaway faction of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC). Geelani, a pro-Pakistan leader of the Jamaat-e-Islami, claimed that the new faction was the ‘real’ Hurriyat Conference. Convenor of the rebel faction, Massarat Aalam, declared at a news conference in Srinagar that Geelani had been ‘formally appointed’ as the head of the "real" Hurriyat Conference. Speaking at the press conference, Geelani said, "With full regard to 100,000 martyrs and 500 martyrs graveyards, I will continue to work for Kashmir’s freedom."

September 5, 2003: An activist of the secessionist All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC), Mohammad Maqbool Kapra, was released after a 17-month detention under the Public Safety Act (PSA). Kapra, the Srinagar district president of Muslim Conference and a resident of Zainakadal, was released from Police Station Safakadal. He was arrested along with his elder brother Abdul Waheed in March 2002 and lodged in the Kot Bhalwal jail in Jammu, from where he was sent to a Joint Interrogation Centre in Jammu and Srinagar and subsequently shifted to Safakadal.

August 29, 2003:  At the last day of his three-day visit to Jammu and Kashmir, the Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee in Jammu reiterated that talks with Pakistan would be ‘meaningless’ if terrorist attacks continued. He further said that the Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani had already extended an invitation to the leaders of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) and "If they accept the invitation, they are welcome." However, he added, "Even the informal talks have not begun. Whether the talks should be formal or informal is yet to be decided."

August 12, 2003: The secessionist All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) while welcoming the offer of cease-fire made by President Pervez Musharraf said that terrorist groups have to be taken into confidence for it to be durable. "We welcome the offer of cease-fire made by Musharraf and hope that India reciprocates the latest initiative by Pakistan to create a conducive atmosphere for a dialogue process," Hurriyat chairman Maulana Mohammad Abbas Ansari said in Srinagar. He also said that there should be sincerity on both sides while initiating a dialogue process to resolve the Kashmir issue in which the terrorist leadership should also be involved.

July 12, 2003: Shia leader Maulvi Abbas Ansari was elected unopposed as the new Chief of the secessionist All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC). The election took place during an emergency meeting of the APHC at its Rajbagh headquarters in Srinagar. Ansari replaces Abdul Gani Bhat of the Muslim Conference as the Chairman. The Jamaat-e-Islami, a Hurriyat constituent, reportedly boycotted the meeting.

June 20, 2003: Senior secessionist leader of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC), Mohammad Yousuf Mujahid, was released after more than two years in detention under the Public Safety Act (PSA) as part of the State Government’s policy to set free detenues who are not involved in serious crimes. Mujahid, reportedly personal secretary to the Jamaat-e-Islami leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani, was released from Ram Munshibagh Police Station in Srinagar where he was shifted in May 2003. Mujahid, who was arrested on March 17, 2001, served jail terms in Kotbalwal Jail in Jammu and Sangroor in Punjab besides in the Joint Interrogation Centre in Srinagar.

May 31, 2003: Delhi Police claimed that the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) Chairman Abdul Gani Bhat was unable to explain the source of approximately Rupees 300,000 recovered following arrests of the APHC Kashmir Awareness Bureau (KAB) chief Shabir Ahmed Dar, and a woman APHC activist Anjum Zamrooda Habib on February 6, 2003. The Police have also alleged that Bhat was channeling funds from Pakistan to various terrorist outfits in India, particularly to those operating in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K). In a charge sheet, the Police have further said that Bhat used Ahmed Dar and Zamrooda Habib to collect money from former Pakistani Deputy High Commissioner to India, Jalil Abbas Jilani. Meanwhile, Dar has reportedly confessed that Jilani provided the seized money for funding terrorist activities in India.

May 23, 2003: Delhi Police, charge-sheeted two leaders of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC), including its Delhi-based spokesman Shabir Dar while naming former Deputy High Commissioner of Pakistan to India Jaleel Abbas Gilani and Hurriyat Chairman Abdul Gani Bhat as accused who could not be sent for trial. They have been charge-sheeted under Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA) for allegedly funding terrorist activities in the country. Police sources said Gilani and Bhat had been kept in column number two of the charge-sheet meant for persons not sent for trial. While Gilani enjoys diplomatic immunity, there was not enough evidence against Bhat who was questioned by the Delhi Police in March 2003. Dar was arrested on February 6, 2003 in Delhi for allegedly receiving funds from Pakistan High Commission for passing them on to terrorist groups in Jammu and Kashmir.

May 20, 2003: Criticising the Pakistani decision to ‘ban’ Hizb-ul-Mujahideen (HM), the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani, described the move "as a big tragedy for the suppressed people of Jammu and Kashmir." He said, "Today's move by the government of Pakistan is the deviation from its earlier stand." He said Pakistan had taken the decision under American pressure. Geelani also said, "the way the neighbouring country is fast succumbing to US pressure, it may change its name and surrender nuclear weapons to please America." He also claimed that 95 percent of the HM cadre was from Jammu and Kashmir. Geelani’s statements came even as the Pakistani Interior Minister denied in Islamabad that Pakistan had proscribed the Hizb. The Hizb was founded in 1989 as the militant wing of the Islamist group Jamaat-e-Islami.

May 15, 2003: The Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) Government released a senior secessionist leader, Mukhtar Ahmad Sofi, after approximately 20 months of detention in an interrogation centre. Sofi, a senior leader of the Jammu and Kashmir Peoples’ League, a constituent of the secessionist All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC), is the third leader set free within a fortnight. Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) leader Noor Mohammad Khalwal and Jamaat-e-Islami leader Qazi Ahadullah were released on May 3 and 8, 2003 respectively. Sofi was arrested on September 14, 2001, from the Lal Chowk area in Srinagar, capital of J&K, and charged under the Public Safety Act (PSA).

April 27, 2003: The Union Minister of State (MoS) for Defence Chaman Lal Gupta said in Jalandhar, Punjab that the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) decision to boycott, among others, talks with the Union Government’s interlocutor on Kashmir issue, N N Vohra reflected its anti-Indian stand.

April 24, 2003: The All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) announced in Srinagar that it would boycott the dialogue process undertaken by the Union Government's interlocutor on Jammu and Kashmir, N N Vohra. The announcement came at the end of a meeting of the executive committee of APHC. "We will not talk to Vohra as Government has adopted double standards regarding the format of talks in Nagaland and Kashmir", APHC leader Yasin Malik told media persons at the Rajbagh headquarters of Hurriyat.

April 18, 2003: Kashmir Valley observed a near-total shutdown in response to the call given by the separatist conglomerate, the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC). Later in the day, the Hurriyat, however, issued a statement withdrawing the call for another shutdown on April 19, today. It also claimed that the Prime Minister’s visit was a failure and the people of Kashmir observed the strike to press for a political settlement to the Kashmir issue.

April 16, 2003: Two days ahead of Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee’s scheduled visit to Jammu and Kashmir, the secessionist conglomerate, All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC), called for a strike on April 18 and 19 "to highlight on international arena that people of Kashmir want solution to the Kashmir issue." A Hurriyat spokesperson, in a statement, hoped that the Prime Minister would initiate a result-oriented and purposeful dialogue for peace and prosperity in South Asia. This is the first time after year 1987 that a Prime Minister would be addressing an open-air public meeting in the Kashmir Valley. Meanwhile, a media report said intelligence inputs indicate that terrorist groups could carry out a major massacre or a suicide attack to disrupt the Premier’s visit.

March 13, 2003: The All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC), said it was undecided over participating in negotiations with N N Vohra, Union government’s interlocutor on J&K. APHC chairman Abdul Ghani Bhat said, "We are still considering the issue and will make our stand clear after holding discussions."

March 9, 2003: The Union Government has taken a serious note of the confession of a Pakistani terrorist, Mohammed Asgar alias Showkat Khan, in which he said he had taken shelter in the house of a former Chairman of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC). Asgar, who reportedly belongs to the Al- Badar terrorist outfit, claimed he had been hiding in the house of the Hurriyat leader after he was injured in an encounter with security forces at Bandipore. Asgar also revealed that, during his stay, he realised that Hafeez Ahsan Ali, the then chief commander of Al-Badar, was also staying at the Hurriyat leader’s house.

March 5, 2003: The separatist All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) is yet to decide whether it would talk to Vohra or not.

March 4, 2003: Arrested All Parties Hurriyat Conference’s (APHC’s) women activist Anjum Zamrooda Habib alleged in a court in New Delhi that she her confession on receiving money from the Pakistan High Commission was made under ‘police pressure’. She reportedly said police had "forced" her to make "false entries" in the diary that was seized from her possession. She also backtracked from her earlier statement of having admitted the receipt of "nazrana" (gift) when she was produced before the Court on February 7, 2003. Habib and APHC’s Delhi-based spokesperson Shabir Ahmed Dar were arrested on February 6, 2003 for allegedly receiving ‘funds’ from Pakistan’s then Charge d’Affaires Jaleel Abbas Gilani for abetting terrorist activities in Jammu and Kashmir.

February 27, 2003: The All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC), at a meeting in Srinagar remained undecided over holding negotiations with the newly appointed Union government interlocutor on J&K N N Vohra. Vohra was appointed as interlocutor on February 19.

February 26, 2003: Jammu and Kashmir Police arrested seven activists of the separatist All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC), including its leaders Javed Ahmad Mir and Khalil Mohammad Khalil. They had reportedly planned to disrupt the polling process at Pampore.

February 18, 2003: The woman activist of the secessionist All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) conglomerate, who was arrested on February 6, 2003 by Delhi Police for receiving Rupees 300, 000 from the expelled Pakistani Deputy High Commissioner, had planned to funnel the money to various terrorist groups in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K). Replying to a question, Union Minister of State for Home Harin Pathak told the Lok Sabha (Lower House of Parliament) that Anjum Zamrooda Habib, Chief of Muslim Khawateen Markaz, a Hurriyat constituent, revealed during her interrogation that an office bearer of the Kashmir Awareness Bureau had also received money from the same source for funding terrorist activities in J&K and other parts of the country.

February 11, 2003: The expelled Deputy High Commissioner of Pakistan, Jalil Abbas Jilani allegedly handed over an unspecified amount of money to the secessionist All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) leaders in Singapore recently. This was reportedly revealed during the ongoing investigations by the Delhi Police into Jilani’s alleged involvement in funding separatist activities in the Indian State of Jammu and Kashmir. Jilani was entrusted with the task of supervising the transaction with the APHC leaders and various other terrorist outfits. Separately, APHC activist Anjum Zamruda Habib, who was arrested on February 6, 2003 confessed that Jilani had asked her to deliver a major portion of the money recovered from her to the Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) leader Yasin Malik.  Earlier, the Delhi Police had arrested Anjum along with the APHC's Delhi spokesperson Shabir Ahmed Dar. An amount of Rupees 3.07 lakh besides some documents and propaganda material was recovered from her possession.

February 8, 2003: The Indian Government expelled Pakistan's Acting High Commissioner Jalil Abbas Jilani and four non-diplomatic staffers for "involvement in activities incompatible with their official position". As reported earlier, Jilani was named by the Delhi Police in a First Information Report (FIR) for providing money to the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC). Jilani had been named as the source of funds for the Hurriyat by Anjum Zamrooda Habib, who was arrested outside the Pakistani mission on February 6, 2003 in the possession of Rupees three lakh. In an apparent retaliatory move, Pakistan ordered the expulsion of India's Acting High Commissioner Sudhir Vyas and four non-diplomatic staffers from the country.

February 8, 2003: The Jammu and Kashmir government released senior secessionist leader and former Chairman of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC), Syed Ali Shah Geelani, on parole considering his health conditions. This decision reportedly follows consultations between Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed and Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani during the Chief Ministers’ conference on internal security in Delhi. Geelani, who was arrested on June 9, 2002, under Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA) for allegedly receiving money from Pakistan’s Inter Services Intelligence (ISI), through hawala (illegal money transfer) channels and later distributing the same to different terrorist groups, is currently undergoing treatment at the Tata Memorial Hospital in Mumbai, Maharashtra.

February 7, 2003: In response to the February 6-arrest of two of its activists, the secessionist All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) denied receiving any funds from the Pakistani High Commission in Delhi and termed the arrests as being politically motivated. Abdul Ghani Bhat, Hurriyat Chairman, told in Srinagar that the outfit had never received any money from Pakistan "covertly or overtly." Demanding an impartial probe into the incident, Bhat said the money received from Hurriyat’s office in New Delhi was meant for running day-to-day activities in the national capital. As reported earlier, Delhi Police, acting on an intelligence tip-off, had arrested chief of Muslim Khawateen Markaz, a constituent of Hurriyat, Anjum Zamrooda Habib and recovered Rs 3.07 lakh, which she claimed had been handed over to her by Pakistan’s Deputy High Commissioner Jaleel Abbas Gilani for passing on to a terrorist group. Bhat also indicated that the Hurriyat might also close its office in Delhi following the incident.

February 7, 2003: The Pakistani government lodged a protest with the Indian Government, when it summoned its Acting High Commissioner Sudhir Vyas to the Foreign Office against what it described as "ridiculous and baseless" allegations against its Acting High Commissioner Jalil Abbas Jilani, in New Delhi. As reported earlier, Jilani is alleged to have paid a woman activist of the secessionist All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) Rupees 3.07 lakh. According to diplomatic sources quoted in a media report, Vyas told the Foreign Office that it was not the Indian government itself, which had made charges against Jilani but was only quoting what the Indian police had charged. A Foreign Office spokesperson said, "The government of Pakistan has lodged a strong protest with the Indian government over the ridiculous and baseless allegation made by Indian authorities accusing Pakistan's acting High Commissioner Jalil Abbas Jilani of providing money to the representatives of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference." The spokesperson also spoke of the need for India to honour its responsibilities under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations and the Bilateral Code of Conduct concluded by the two countries in year 1992. "Registering an FIR [First Information Report] against acting High Commissioner under POTA [Prevention of Terrorism Act] law is the worst example of diplomatic depravity," he told reporters in Islamabad.

February 7, 2003: Pakistan’s Charge D’Affaires, Jaleel Abbas Gilani, has been named by the Delhi Police in the First Information Report (FIR) registered after one of the two arrested All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) activists alleged that he funded separatist activities in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K). Anjum Zamrooda Habib, Chief of Muslim Khawateen Markaz, a Hurriyat constituent, who along with Delhi-based Hurriyat spokesperson Shabir Dar were arrested on February 6, confessed before a designated Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA) court in Delhi that Rupees 3.07 lakh recovered from her was given by the Pakistan High Commission to be passed on to the APHC chairman Abdul Ghani Bhat as a Nazrana (gift). The Hurriyat activists were produced before the Court, which remanded them to 10 days of Police Custody. Further, Police also recovered Rupees two lakh from the Hurriyat office in Delhi and arrested Dar after Habib alleged that he was also receiving money from the Pakistani High Commission.

February 7, 2003: The shutdown call given by secessionist conglomerate All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) in the Kashmir valley evoked a lukewarm response. While most of the shops were reportedly closed for business in three markets in the Civil Lines area of the capital city Srinagar in response to the Hurriyat call, shops and business establishments functioned as usual in other parts of the capital city. All Government offices, banks, courts, hotels and restaurants were also open. The APHC had given the shutdown call in protest against the continued detention of its senior leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani and other activists, alleged human rights abuse by the security forces, pronouncement of death sentence and life term imprisonment by some Indian courts on Kashmiri separatist activists. The Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF), Hizb-ul-Mujahideen (HM), Dukhtaraan-e-Millat (DeM), Muslim League and Jamaat-e-Islami had supported the Hurriyat call.

February 6, 2003: Unearthing a racket of funding of separatist activities in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K), Delhi Police arrested two leaders of the secessionist conglomerate All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC), including its Delhi-based spokesperson Shabir Ahmed Dar, for allegedly receiving funds from the Pakistan High Commission for passing them on to terrorist outfits in J&K. On a specific intelligence input, the Delhi Police arrested a woman identified as Anjum Zamrooda Habib after she came out from the Pakistan High Commission premises. An amount of Rupees 3.07 lakh besides some documents and propaganda material was recovered from her possession, Joint Commissioner of Delhi Police (Special Cell) Neeraj Kumar told reporters on February 6. He said Anjuam, leader of the Muslim Khawateen Markaz, a constituent of the APHC, revealed during interrogation that she had received the money from Pakistan’s Deputy High Commissioner Jaleel Abbas Gilani and was referred to him by the Hurriyat chairman Abdul Gani Bhat and Shabir Dar. She reportedly also revealed that Dar was frequenting the Pakistan High Commission for receiving money for an unnamed terrorist outfit. Both of them have been arrested under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA) and are to be produced before a Magistrate on February 7, 2003 the Joint Commissioner said.

February 5, 2003: The Kashmir Committee, headed by former Union Law Minister Ram Jethmalani, has decided to hold a structured dialogue with the secessionist conglomerate All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) and other separatist groups of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K). A meeting of the members of the committee, chaired by Jethmalani, decided to invite the APHC, Democratic Freedom Party and other political leaders for talks after the second week of February.

January 24, 2003: Secessionist All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) senior leader Sheikh Abdul Rashid was released on bail by a court, in Srinagar, after over a year’s detention in various jails in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K). Rashid, who was functioning as information secretary of the secessionist amalgam, was arrested on January 12, 2002, under the Public Safety Act, which was revoked on technical grounds in June 2002. Rashid was released on bail from the Kotbalwal Jail in Jammu on November 13 after the People’s Democratic Party came to power in the State, but was taken into custody again.

January 22, 2003: The separatist All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) has called for a shutdown on January 26, India’s Republic Day. It has reportedly asked the people of Kashmir to observe a ‘black day’ and ensure a complete shutdown.

January 10, 2003: The Union Government decided to withdraw the case against Iftikar Geelani, Kashmir Times Delhi Bureau Chief and son-in-law of the All Party Huriyat Conference (APHC) leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani, arrested under the Official Secrets Act. Geelani's counsel said the Government has filed an application before Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Sangita Dhingra Sehgal for withdrawal of the case, which would be taken up for hearing on January 13. The Union Home Ministry, on January 7, questioned the opinion of Director General of Military Intelligence (DGMI) Lt Gen O S Lochab Iftikar who said documents seized from Ifthikar contained no classified information. Iftikar was arrested on June 9, 2002 by Delhi police’s special cell under the Official Secrets Act for allegedly possessing documents compromising national security.

January 9, 2003: A day before he was scheduled to go to Dubai, the passport of separatist All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) former Chairman Mirwaiz Umer Farooq was suspended, by the Union Government, on the ground that his travel abroad was not in the interest of the country. Invoking the Passports Act, 1967, the Government suspended his passport for four weeks giving him eight weeks’ time to appeal against the decision to the passport office in Srinagar. This action follows a Union Government decision to reverse its policy of being liberal in enabling separatist leaders to travel abroad and participate in conferences and other meetings. The decision was reportedly taken after a dossier was submitted to the Union Home Ministry which named Mirwaiz Umer Farooq, Yaseen Malik and Sheikh Abdul Aziz among separatist leaders against whom action was proposed.

December 23, 2002: Director General of Military Intelligence (DGMI) Lieutenant General O S Lochab appeared before the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate in New Delhi, and submitted a report furnished by his office, on December 12, that the documents recovered from Geelani did not contain any classified information. Iftikar Geelani is the Kashmir Times’ Delhi bureau chief and son-in-law of All Parties Huriyat Conference (APHC) leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani, and was arrested on June 9, 2002 under the Official Secrets Act for allegedly possessing documents compromising India’s national security.

December 19: There was near-total shutdown in the twin north Kashmir towns of Baramulla and Sopore, as two constituents of the separatist All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC)––Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) and High Court Bar Association, called for a two-day shutdown to protest the death sentence awarded by a designated Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA) Court to three Kashmiris in the December 13, 2002-Parliament attack case. The three persons––Syed Abdur Rehman Geelani, Showkat Hussain Guru and Mohammad Afzal––hail from Baramulla area. The call for strike evoked partial response in the capital city of Srinagar and other district headquarters. Meanwhile, in a statement circulated in Srinagar, Hizb-ul-Mujahideen (HM) ‘Chief Commander of Operations’ Saiful Islam described the death sentence as a "blow to the Mufti Government, which had been claiming that POTA had been dropped". Further, the Al Umar Mujahideen terrorist group lifted its ‘ban’ on APHC leaders visiting the Jamia Masjid in Srinagar with immediate effect. The terrorist outfit had, in November 2002, "forbidden" Hurriyat leaders from entering the shrine following the latest round of talks between the separatists and the Kashmir Committee led by former Union Law Minister Ram Jethmalani.

December 5, 2002: The secessionist All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) conglomerate welcomed the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Toiba’s (LeT) four-day cease-fire announcement in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) and urged the Union Government to respond positively. Senior Hurriyat executive committee member and Ithad-ul-Muslimeen President Maulana Mohammed Abbaas Hussain Ansari said the Lashkar's momentary cease-fire on the eve of the holy festival of Eid-ul-Fitr has set-in the tone for a new situation in J&K. "The decision taken by the Lashkar-e-Toiba is appreciable. We welcome such gesture. But the Government of India's silence is very meaningful. It would have been better had New Delhi also responded positively to the offer", said the Maulana.

November 20, 2002: Some social and over-ground separatist outfits in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) have come together to form an umbrella organisation, which would also reportedly include members of some terrorist groups. Announcing this, Mawan Foundation Chairman Nisar Ali Sabazwari said, Shujat Alliance (alliance of brave people), an amalgam of 20 organisations, would be a parallel to the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC).

November 16, 2002: A Delhi Sessions Court, rejected the bail plea of Ifthikar Geelani, son-in-law of All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) leader Syed Ali Shah Gilani. The Delhi Police arrested Ifthikar on June 10, 2002 under the Official Secrets Act.

November 15, 2002: Front ranking Hizb-ul-Mujahideen (HM) ‘commander’ Abdul Aziz Dar alias General Moosa and Altaf Fantoosh, son-in-law of the jailed All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani, were released from jail by the Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) Government. General Moosa who was lodged at Sangrur Jail, Punjab, was arrested in the year 1991 when he was leading a HM ‘battalion’ in Srinagar. Fantoosh was arrested when Geelani was also taken in to custody on June 9, 2002.

November 14, 2002: The Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) Government set free four detenues, including two belonging to the separatist All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC), who were detained under the Public Safety Act (PSA). Pervaiz Ahmad Dar, a senior People’s League and APHC leader was released on bail from the Central Jail in Srinagar after a 10-month detention. Abdul Rahim Wani, a district president of the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP) was released from the Kot Balwal jail in Jammu, said official sources. Wani, who is the Kupwara district president of the PDP, was arrested under the Prevention of Terrorism Act 2002 (POTA) along with his two body guards in December 2001.

November 12, 2002: The Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) Government released on one-month parole from the Central Jail in Srinagar a separatist leader belonging to the People’s League (PL). Waza, who represented the PL at the executive meetings of the separatist conglomerate, the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC), was arrested on January 12, 2002, and was lodged in different jails outside Kashmir Valley. He was shifted to the Central Jail in Srinagar on October 27 from Kot Balwal jail in Jammu.

November 11, 2002: Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) Chairman Yasin Malik was released after eight months in detention. Malik was released from the high security Kot Balwal Jail in Jammu, and a court granted him parole. Malik, an Executive Committee member of the separatist All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC), was arrested on March 25 under the Prevention of Terrorism Act 2002 (POTA). He was later released in July but was immediately re-arrested under the Public Safety Act (PSA) that provides for detention for two years without trial. Besides Malik, others who have been released after the new coalition government took office are JKLF ‘commanders’ Shaukat Bakshi and Nazir Ahmad Sheikh and top Hizb-ul-Mujahideen (HM) terrorist Ayyub Dar.

September 13, 2002: The Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) High Court, has stayed the shifting of separatist All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani to a jail in J&K from Ranchi in Jharkhand. The Court had, earlier on September 4, ordered the shifting of Geelani from Birsa Munda Central Jail in Ranchi, Jharkhand, to a prison in J&K as Geelani’s health was failing. Geelani was arrested on June 9, 2002, under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA) from Srinagar for allegedly receiving money from Pakistan’s external intelligence agency, Inter Services Intelligence (ISI), through hawala (illegal money transfer) channels and later distributing the same to different terrorist groups.

September 10, 2002: In New Delhi, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, senior leader of the separatist All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) said his group is ready to discuss an alternative to independence, including autonomy, if the Union Government is to resolve the Kashmir issue initiates a peace process. He said, "In a hypothetical situation, if Government of India tomorrow says independent Jammu and Kashmir is not viable, let them come up with an alternative which fulfils aspirations of the people of Kashmir and helps in establishing permanent peace…If they provide an alternative to independence, we are ready to discuss it." Maintaining that Hurriyat wanted a peaceful and negotiated resolution to the Kashmir problem, he said "we are ready to discuss any option from autonomy to azadi. We have an open mind" on that. He also said if a solution agreeable to India, Pakistan and the people of Kashmir was arrived at, "Jehadis will have to fall in line, otherwise we will rise against them".

September 8, 2002: The Kashmir Committee (KC) and the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC), called for a ‘structured dialogue’ among all parties concerned, including people across the borders, to create conditions conducive for a solution to the Kashmir issue. After a meeting in Delhi, a joint statement by the KC and the APHC said all parties must rise above their traditional positions, abandon extreme stands and show flexibility and realism to reach an acceptable, honourable and durable solution. APHC leader Mirwaiz Umer Farooq, while speaking to the media after the meeting, said, "The Hurriyat would continue with its poll boycott call as elections are a closed chapter for us. Elections in the past had failed to resolve the Kashmir issue''. Reacting to the KC’s decision to meet Pakistan's Kashmir Committee, he said, "It is indeed a step forward and the Hurriyat is also of the firm belief that besides government-to-government contact, there should be a people-to-people contact''.

September 7, 2002: The Kashmir Committee (KC) and the All Parities Hurriyat Conference (APHC), in a meeting in New Delhi, discussed ‘specific proposals’ regarding the resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir issue. The meeting decided that the KC would meet its Pakistani counterpart. Speaking to the media after the meeting, Kashmir Committee member Dilip Padgaonkar said, "We have decided to meet Kashmir Committee of Pakistan at any time and place of convenience". During the talks in New Delhi, it was also decided that discussions should be held at various levels, and even simultaneously. APHC leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq said the talks had moved a "great deal forward" as the discussions now were centred on "specific issues" and "steps" to resolve the issue.

September 4, 2002: The Jammu and Kashmir High Court directed the Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) Government to lodge detained leader of the separatist All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC), Syed Ali Shah Geelani, in a jail within the State within a week. "In view of the law, all detainees who are permanent residents of Jammu and Kashmir State shall not be lodged in jails outside the State", ordered a single bench comprising Justice Muzaffar Jan. The petition had been filed on behalf of Geelani, currently lodged in Birsa Munda Central Jail, Ranchi in the State of Jharkhand. As reported earlier, Geelani was arrested on June 9, 2002, under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA) from Srinagar and shifted to the Ranchi jail. He was arrested for allegedly receiving money from Pakistan’s external intelligence agency, the Inter Services Intelligence (ISI), through hawala (illegal money transfer) channels and later distributing the same to different terrorist groups.

August 31, 2002: The All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC), decided to advance the date of the executive committee meeting to September 1. The forthcoming Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections would reportedly be discussed at the meeting.

August 30, 2002: President Pervez Musharraf is reported to have expressed Pakistan's solidarity with the separatist All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) in boycotting the forthcoming Legislative Assembly elections in the Indian State of Jammu and Kashmir. He was talking to former Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) Premier and National Kashmir Committee chairman Sardar Abdul Qayyum Khan, who called on him at his office in Islamabad.

August 20, 2002: The Hizb-ul-Mujahideen (HM), endorsed the stand of the separatist-All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) that has resolved to boycott the forthcoming elections to the Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) Legislative Assembly. "We fully endorse and applaud the rejection and boycott of the farcical elections in occupied Kashmir by the APHC chairman Prof Abdul Ghani Bhat after his meeting with the so-called Kashmir committee of the Indian government," HM ‘supreme commander’ Syed Salahuddin said from Muzaffarabad, Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK).

August 13, 2002: Kashmir Committee Chairman Ram Jethmalani met detained Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) Chairman Yaseen Malik in Delhi and later demanded the release of all detained separatist leaders to render the forthcoming elections to the State Legislative Assembly in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) transparent, free and fair. Jethmalani is scheduled to arrive in J&K for three days from August 16 to hold wide-ranging talks with several leaders, including those belonging to the separatist All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) as well as Shabir Shah, leader of Peoples Freedom Party (PFP).

August 12, 2002: The separatist All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC), while stating that they were not going to participate in the forthcoming Legislative Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir, said they would hold a dialogue with the Kashmir Committee headed by former Union Law Minister Ram Jethmalani. According to APHC Chief Abdul Gani Bhat, the Hurriyat had unanimously decided to talk to Jethmalani "with the condition that its posture of tripartite talks would not be compromised". He also said the Jethmalani committee was a non-governmental group and, as such, the APHC had no hesitation in talking to it.

August 10, 2002: The separatist All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) ruled out its participation in the forthcoming Legislative Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir. However, it decided to convene a meeting of its general council on August 12 to discuss the invitation for talks extended by leader of the Kashmir Committee, Ram Jethmalani. APHC chairman Abdul Ghani Bhat said, in Srinagar, the APHC has decided to announce "no more talks on elections". "We are not going to participate in the elections". Bhat added.

August 9, 2002: While defending the presence of foreign mercenaries and justifying political killings, the Jamiat-ul-Mujahideen (JuM) said that the separatist alliance All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) was against Jehad in Kashmir. "No doubt, it (Hurriyat) is a forum consisting of different parties, but we don’t have any good hope with it as the forum is practically against practical struggle — Jehad -directly or indirectly, intentionally or unintentionally", ‘supreme commander’ of JuM, Ghulam Rasool Shah alias "General Abdullah" told from Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK). Shah, who entered PoK after escaping Police custody in Srinagar in February 2000, opined that any visit of the Hurriyat leadership to PoK would have no impact on the ongoing movement in Kashmir.

August 9, 2002: Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani has said that he is willing to hold talks with anyone from Jammu and Kashmir, especially the All Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC) leaders and Peoples Democratic Party leader Shabir Shah. This assurance was reportedly given by Advani to the Kashmir Committee headed by lawyer and Member of Parliament Ram Jethmalani at a meeting in New Delhi.

August 5, 2002: The United Jehad Council (UJC), an alliance of 15 Pakistan-based terrorist groups headquartered in Muzaffarabad, Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK), has labelled Sajjad Lone, a leader of the separatist All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC), as "a puppet of Indian intelligence agencies". The UJC has opposed Sajjad Lone’s recent statement in Bandipore wherein he had criticised terrorist ‘commanders’ based in PoK and identified them as "escapists, who do not represent the Kashmiri people, their interests or aspirations". In a statement faxed to a Jammu and Kashmir-based news agency from Muzaffarabad, UJC spokesperson Sadaqat Hussain said Sajjad Lone has been "playing in the hands of Indian agencies and slinging mud on the Jehadi leadership".

July 24, 2002: The separatist All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) said, it was willing to hold an "unconditional dialogue" with the Union Government on the Kashmir issue. "We have been making it amply clear that talks were the mode by which the issue could be solved but the parley should be unconditional from both sides," said former Hurriyat chief Mirwaiz Umer Farooq, in Delhi. Commenting on the earlier conditions set by the APHC, he said, "Talks will be unconditional provided the Centre (Union government) also stops harping on holding the exercise within the constitutional framework." He opined that Kashmir was not an administrative problem and the issue needed an immediate and serious attention from the Union government for its final resolution through a constructive dialogue. On the issue of participation in the forthcoming State Legislative Assembly elections, he said: "We have maintained that we will not shy away from any such exercise aimed at resolving the Kashmir dispute but we reject outright an election process which envisaged forming a government in the State and later governing it."

July 21, 2002: The secessionist All Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC), said it has submitted a memorandum to the United Nations (UN) and other world powers for an early resolution of the Kashmir issue. Speaking to media persons in Srinagar, a spokesman for the APHC said the memorandum, addressed to UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, was also dispatched to the heads of United States Britain, Russia, China, Japan, Amnesty International and European Union. The memorandum, which was released to the media said, "Consequent upon the mass killings of innocent men, women and children yet again at Qasim Nagar in Jammu, it decided in an extraordinary meeting a couple of days back to organize a protest march with a view to emphasizing the need at the global level to unmask the ugly criminals involved in the carnage".

July 20, 2002: Fifteen separatist leaders, including two Executive Members of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC), were arrested for attempting to take out a procession in Srinagar in violation of prohibitory orders, official sources said. Hurriyat leaders Javeed Ahmed Mir and Bilal Gani Lone and Jammu and Kashmir Democratic Freedom Party (JKDFP) leader Saleem Geelani were detained with a dozen other activists. Meanwhile, APHC chairman Abdul Gani Bhat claimed that senior leaders of the Hurriyat, including Mirwaiz Omar Farooq, Moulvi Abbas Ansari and himself, were put under house arrest on the same day to prevent them from participating in a ‘peace march’ organised to protest the alleged atrocities and human rights violations by security forces in the State.

Separately, Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) Chief and Hurriyat leader Yasin Malik, incarcerated under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA), was granted bail by a Designated Court before being re-arrested under the Public Safety Act (PSA). As reported earlier, Malik was arrested on March 25 for his alleged involvement in the hawala (illegal money transfer) transaction.

July 12, 2002: Rejecting the recent proposal of the separatist alliance All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) to send a delegation to Pakistan for talks on enforcing a cease-fire in the State of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K), Chairman of the United Jehad Council and Hizb-ul-Mujahideen (HM) chief Syed Salahuddin has said that "gun and talks" proceed simultaneously. Ruling out participation in any cease-fire, he said such an exercise was not pre-requisite for holding talks and that the "past experience of cease-fire bore no fruit and met a serious disaster." "We can consider this option after India meets our demand (of accepting Kashmir as a disputed territory) backed by guarantees from world powers", he told a Karachi-based magazine Herald. Commenting on Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf’s commitment to permanently stop cross-border infiltration, Salahuddin said that they did not recognize the Line of Control (LoC). "Let me tell you that no power on earth can deprive us of our right to move" within Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir (PoK) or J&K, he said.

July 7, 2002: The Director General of Police (DGP) said Jammu and Kashmir Police have arrested 12 persons in connection with the assassination of senior All Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC) leader Abdul Gani Lone. "We have arrested 10 to 12 militants of Al-Umar outfit in connection with the killing of Lone," he said and added that the outfit has assumed a new name Al-Madina.

July 4, 2002: Mirwaiz Omar Farooq, a senior leader of the separatist All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) criticised the Pakistan-based United Jehad Council (UJC) for asking the APHC to make public their stand on the forthcoming Legislative Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir. "We don’t take dictation from anybody. Neither we do things on Indian dictates nor Pakistani... whatever decision we take will be in accordance with the need of the hour," said Mirawaiz, also a former Hurriyat chairman. "APHC won’t be guided by anyone. We are open to suggestions but we won’t be guided by anyone," he said, adding, "APHC is a political forum, whatever we feel is needed for strengthening the movement, we will do it."

July 2, 2002: A Delhi court, further extended the judicial remand of Iftikhar Geelani, son-in-law of the All Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC) leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani, till July 8 in a case under the Official Secrets Act. The court also allowed the Delhi police's request for further interrogation of the accused.

July 2, 2002: The United Jihad Council (UJC), a Pakistan-based coalition of terrorist organisations operating in J&K––in a statement, called on the separatist All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) to take a clear stand on the proposed Assembly elections in J&K.

July 1, 2002: Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) Director General of Police (DGP) Ashok Kumar Suri said in Srinagar that the Al Madina Regiment (AMR) had assassinated separatist All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) senior leader Abdul Ghani Lone on May 21. The DGP said the Al Madina Regiment is the second name of the Al Umar terrorist outfit.

June 30, 2002: Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI), a constituent of the separatist All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC), said it will not issue any call for boycotting the forthcoming State Legislative Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K). "Life is like a changing ocean, anything can happen in future but right now we have no plans of participating in the polls," JeI Chief Ghulam Mohammad Bhat said in an interview. "But at the same time, we will not launch a poll boycott campaign (as it would be) an unlawful act," he added. While alleging that elections in J&K were never free and fair, he said, "now the Government of India is repeatedly assuring that they (elections) will be fair. Let us see how it is actually translated on ground."

June 28, 2002: The separatist All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) said that it would consider Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s offer of talks if the conglomerate’s leaders are allowed to hold parleys with Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf, too. "We are ready for talks with Mr Vajpayee but we should also be allowed to meet Gen Musharraf and the separatist leaders in Pakistan for a meaningful and purposeful dialogue process aimed at resolving the vexed Kashmir issue," said Hurriyat chairman Abdul Gani Bhat in Srinagar. He was reacting to the Premier’s renewed offer of talks with the Hurriyat leadership. The Prime Minister, who is in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh on a two-day visit, said at a news conference that the Union government was ready to hold talks with the Hurriyat leaders, "but there should be no pre-condition for any meeting".

June 23, 2002: The Hizb-ul-Mujahideen (HM) in a statement from Muzaffarabad said the proposed visit of Jammu and Kashmir’s separatist alliance, the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC), to Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) could imply a split because a series of high-profile APHC leaders had been arrested by India recently. HM Chief Syed Salahuddin claimed "India is eliminating the sincere leaders in Kashmir through its agents and is imprisoning others. Initiation of the negotiation process by some Hurriyat leaders in such a set of circumstances would leave a question mark on the honour and dignity of the conglomerate."

June 20, 2002: The Hizb-ul-Mujahideen (HM) ruled out a cease-fire with India, by saying it did not consider the truce as a "pre-requisite for negotiations to resolve the long-standing problem." The group also said that its terrorist operations would continue in the State of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K). The HM comment was in response to the J&K separatist alliance All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) Chairman Abdul Ghani Bhat’s statement in Srinagar on June 19 that the alliance wanted to travel to Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) to meet terrorist leaders and negotiate a peaceful resolution to the Kashmir issue. HM ‘Supreme Commander’ Syed Salahuddin said that Bhat had not consulted him before floating the proposal.

June 19, 2002: The separatist All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC), while announcing that it was keeping in abeyance its 'election commission', also set certain conditions for normalisation of the situation in the State of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K), including the "return of security forces to barracks". While claiming that the Union government's "stubborn attitude" was responsible for the inability of the nearly six-month old 'election commission' to get into action, APFHC chairman Abdul Ghani Bhat urged the Union government to permit APHC representatives to travel to Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) for ‘motivating’ terrorists there to accept a cease-fire proposal. Addressing a press conference in Srinagar, Bhat said these conditions were essential to make the peace process a "meaningful" exercise. As reported earlier, the APHC had set up a "People's Election Commission" on January 28, 2002 to ascertain the APHC’s representative character in the State.

June 10, 2002: Jammu and Kashmir Police invoked the Official Secrets Act (OSA) against senior separatist All Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC) leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani for allegedly passing on classified documents to Pakistan even as the computer seized from his residence has revealed transactions worth crores of rupees. As reported earlier, Geelani was arrested on June 9 from Srinagar and later sent to the Ranchi Central Jail in the State of Jharkhand. Inspector General of Police (Kashmir Range) K Rajendra Kumar said in Srinagar on June 10 that documents recovered from Geelani’s residence revealed deployment of Indian army and para-military forces in Jammu and Kashmir. He said it was suspected that Geelani had passed on the documents to Pakistan. Official sources said police had also recovered special programmes in the computer seized from Geelani’s residence by which one could make forged identity cards of the Government of India. Commenting on Dukhtaran-e-Millat (DeM) chief Asiya Indrabi Kumar said police had not been able to locate her. As reported earlier, cases have been registered under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA) against Indrabi.

June 10, 2002: The Muttahida Jehad Council (MJC), a conglomeration of Pakistan-based terrorist groups, condemned the arrest of senior executive member of the separatist alliance All Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC) Syed Ali Shah Geelani and his son-in-law by Indian security agencies on June 9. "Muttahida Jihad Council strongly condemns the arrest of the popular leader of the freedom movement, Syed Ali Geelani, and his son-in-law, Altaf Ahmed Shah, under the black law, Pota," said the alliance in a statement. The MJC also rejected and termed baseless allegations that Geelani was getting money from the Hizb-ul-Mujahideen (HM) for distribution among the group's commanders in Jammu and Kashmir.

June 10, 2002: Iftikar Geelani, son-in-law of the All Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC) Syed Ali Shah Geelani, is believed to have admitted in a Delhi court that he was an agent of the Inter Services Intelligence (ISI), Pakistan’s external intelligence agency. In the course of thehearing, he reportedly said he had been passing on classified information on the movement of Indian troops to the ISI. Geelani, arrested by Delhi Police's Special Cell on June 9, has been remanded in five days' police custody. He has been charged under the Official Secrets Act. Geelani admitted to owning the laptop recovered from his Khirkee Extension home in South Delhi and to having filed the documents stored in it. "The file in the laptop contains detailed information on the deployment of troops and paramilitary forces along with maps," said a senior police officer.

June 9, 2002: The political process in Jammu and Kashmir has been reactivated with Prime Minister’s special emissary Ram Jethmalani holding talks with the separatist All Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC) and with others. Talks were held to evolve a package that would enable various secessionist groups to participate in the forthcoming State Legislative Assembly elections. Jethmalani is reported to have arrived in the State on the directive of Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and held discussions with Hurriyat chairman Abdul Gani Bhat, Democratic Freedom Party (DFP) chief Shabir Shah and other separatist leaders on various issues concerning the political process in the State.

June 9, 2002: Syed Ali Shah Geelani, former chairman of the separatist alliance All Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC), was arrested under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA) from Srinagar and shifted to the Ranchi central Jail in the State of Jharkhand. According to Jammu and Kashmir Director General of Police (DGP) Ashok Kumar Suri, Geelani was arrested for allegedly receiving money from Pakistan’s external intelligence agency, Inter Services Intelligence (ISI), through hawala (illegal money transfer) channels and for later distributing the same to different terrorist groups, including the Hizb-ul-Mujahideen (HM). The DGP said cases have been registered against Geelani and Dukhtaran-e-Milat (DeM) chief Asiya Indrabi under POTA. A massive search operation has been launched to arrest Asiya, who has reportedly gone underground, he added.

Security forces (SFs) conducted raids at Geelani’s house, and of his son-in-law Altaf Fantoosh and two shops, the premises of Asiya and three other persons linked to Geelani. Geelani’s house in Sopore, besides at another’s in Baramulla. Raids were also carried out at two premises of another son-in-law Ifthikar Geelani, a journalist in Delhi. Giving details of the arrest, the DGP said, consequent to the arrest of Imtiyaz Bazaz on May 25 for his involvement in channelling finances emanating from the ISI through London-based Ayub Thakor for Geelani, security agencies were attempting to expose the entire network. He said during interrogation, Bazaz reportedly confirmed that Syed Salahuuddin, the Pakistan-based ‘supreme commander’ of HM, had been sending money to its local commanders through Ayub Thakor and Geelani. Suri said, in the beginning of the year 2002, Salahuuddin had reportedly sent Rs 48 lakh to Geelani through Thakor. Similarly, he said, because Asiya’s husband Qasim Faktu was the financial chief of the Jamait-ul-Mujahideen (JuM), she also started getting money from Thakor through Bazaz to provide finances to JuM as well as the DeM. During the raid at the Hyderpora residence of Geelani, Rs 10,25,000 in cash and US dollars-worth 10,000 were recovered. Vouchers relating to the purchase of a large number of jewellery, documents regarding purchase of two properties in Rawalpora, a diamond-studded watch bearing the inscription "From Pakistan Government", three vehicles and pass books of several bank accounts and lockers were also seized. The DGP said two computers with details of transactions and a list of terrorists and secessionist propaganda were also seized from Geelani’s residence. Quoting income tax officials, Suri said the monthly expenditure at Geelani’s residence was more than Rs 150,000 against his declared annual income of Rs 17,100. Suri added that the income tax returns filed by Geelani indicate he was securing Rs 7,100 as pension for being a former member of the State Legislative Assembly and Rs 10,000 as agriculture income, which is less than 1,500 per month. London-based Thakor, president of the World Kashmir Freedom Movement, is reported to be regularly sending money to finance terrorist outfits in Jammu and Kashmir.

Meanwhile, Ifthikar Geelani, son-in-law of Geelani, was arrested in New Delhi on the same day under the Official Secrets Act (OSA) for possessing certain classified information, including troops movements in Jammu and Kashmir. During raids at his residence, SFs recovered a laptop containing sensitive information that included movements of troops in Jammu and Kashmir. During the raid, police also recovered certain blank visa forms of the Pakistan High Commission, which official sources said were being used to secure visas. Ifthikar is the Resident Editor of two Pakistan-based newspapers - Nation and The Friday Times - besides being the bureau chief of the Jammu-based Kashmir Times.

Separately, protesting the arrest of its senior executive member Geelani as "politically motivated", the APHC called for a general strike on June 11 to highlight, what it called, "sabotaging the efforts of the international community to resolve Kashmir issue through peaceful means". The arrest of Geelani was "the result of negative approach of the government as it comes at a time when international efforts are on to resolve the Kashmir issue through peaceful talks", the Hurriyat said in a statement. Pakistan has condemned the arrest of Geelani. The Pakistani Foreign Office, in a statement issued in Islamabad, said the arrest of Geelani "once again exhibited the Indian government's utter disregard for the fundamental rights and liberties of the Kashmiris." Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah, while declining to comment on the arrest of Geelani, said all "evidence gathered would do all the talking".

May 25, 2002: Bilal Gani Lone, the elder son of slain chief of the Jammu and Kashmir Peoples’ Conference (JKPC), is to represent the party in the executive council of the secessionist alliance All Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC). At an extra-ordinary meeting of party’s working committee in Srinagar it was decided that Bilal would represent the party in the executive council of the Hurriyat, while his younger brother, Sajjad Gani Lone, would take over the chairmanship of the JKPC. The party has constituted a five-member supreme council headed by Bilal to look after party matters and would be accountable to its working committee.

Separately, the London-based Jammu and Kashmir Council for Human Rights a voluntary organisation run by Nazir Geelani, has blamed terrorists for the assassination of senior APHC leader Abdul Gani Lone. In a press statement from London, Geelani said, "During and after the Dubai meet, political, pseudo-political and militant schools of opinion have cried wolf and the wolf finally turned itself upon Lone at Eidgah in Srinagar". A meeting of moderate leaders from India and Pakistan was held in Dubai between April 15-16, 2002. APHC leaders Mirwaiz Umer Farooq and Lone had held talks with Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) Committee chairman Abdul Qayyum Kahn. The meeting is reported to have advocated non-violence and peaceful political means to solve the Kashmir issue.

May 25, 2002: The Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI), one of the main constituents of the separatist alliance All Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC), expelled Abdul Khaliq Hanief from the basic membership of the party. He has reportedly been a JeI member for the past 33 years. A JeI said that Hanief's activities were contrary to the Jamaat constitution. In response, he said, "All the options are open. Me and my colleagues are soon going to decide whether we must float a new organisation or become part of a like-minded forum." The report indicated that Hanief has been critical of the Jamat's strategy as well as that of the APHC. In October 2001, he wrote a letter to APHC Chairman Abdul Gani Bhat telling him that the APHC has lost credibility and that the latter should step-down as chairman. Later on May 21, 2002, Hanief issued a statement in which he said "The (separatist) struggle needs to be carried on democratically so that people get breathing space and come out of the existing frustration."

May 22, 2002: The separatist All Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC) has demanded an immediate probe into the assassination of Abdul Gani Lone, one of its seven executive members. The emergency meeting was presided over by its APHC Chairman Abdul Gani Bhat. Hafizullah Mukhdoomi, senior Vice President of the party, represented the JKPC. Separately, the Jammu and Kashmir Government is planning to enhance the security cover to other Hurriyat leaders following the assassination of Lone. An extraordinary meeting of administrative and police officials was reportedly held in Srinagar on May 22, in which the security of other Hurriyat leaders was reviewed. The State government has reportedly appointed a four-member team headed by Superintendent of Police (SP) Lateef Chawdhary to probe the circumstances leading to the assassination.

May 22, 2002: The Pakistan-based Lashker-e-Toiba (LeT) was responsible for the assassination of senior All Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC) leader Abdul Gani Lone. As reported earlier, senior Hurriyat leader and founder-president of the Jammu & Kashmir Peoples Conference (JKPC) Lone was shot dead by two unidentified gunmen at the Eidgah grounds in Srinagar on May 21. Quoting messages from across the border intercepted by security agencies, these sources said the intercepted conversation between one Abu Hadid operating in Srinagar and a control station of LeT in Pakistan revealed it was Hadid who was responsible for the assassination. The sources said Hadid reportedly carried out that attack along with two other Pakistan-based LeT cadres––Abu Hamza and Abu Rahel. Hadid was also reportedly advised by the LeT ‘operational commander’ in the Valley, Abu Samas, not to publicly claim responsibility for the assassination.

May 21, 2002: Senior separatist All Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC) leader and founder-president of the Jammu & Kashmir Peoples Conference (JKPC) Abdul Gani Lone was shot dead by two unidentified gunmen at the Eidgah grounds in Srinagar. His personal security officer (PSO) was also killed. The assassination occurred at a rally to commemorate the 12th anniversary of Mirwaiz Maulvi Farooq, who was assassinated by terrorists at his residence, that day (May 21) in the year 1990.

A 5000-strong procession was led by Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, former APHC Chairman and son of Maulvi Farooq, from Mirwaiz Manzil to Mazaar-e-Shuhada. The assembly was organised at the Eidgah Grounds by Mirwaiz Umar to pay homage to his father. The Mirwaiz addressed the gathering along with Hurriyat Chairman Abdul Gani Bhat. Amid chaos and confusion at the congregation, two persons reportedly wearing police uniform accosted Abdul Gani Lone who was proceeding towards his vehicle. Eye-witness accounts said they first fired pistol shots on Lone’s PSO and later targeted Lone from a distance of 10 ft. Both Lone and his PSO were killed in this shooting. The gunmen are also reported to have lobbed two hand grenades towards Lone. Another of Lone’s PSO was among the seven others who sustained injuries. Some eye-witnesses said the gunmen also made an unsuccessful attempt to attack Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and other APHC leaders present at the rally, including chairman Bhat. Both the assassins managed to escape from the incident site. Nobody has claimed responsibility for the assassination thus far.

Meanwhile, while condemning the killing of Lone, Union Home Minister L K Advani said it was an attempt to prevent those elements in Jammu and Kashmir who were inclined to participate in the forthcoming State Legislative Assembly elections. Asked whether the assassination was timed to coincide with Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s visit to the State, he said it was "basically carried out by the enemies of the country and terrorists who do not want to see mass participation in elections".

May 21, 2002: The Pakistani Government has strongly condemned the assassination of All Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC) leader Abdul Ghani Lone in Jammu and Kashmir. Additional Secretary, South Asia Desk, at the Foreign Office, Kamran Niaz read out a statement condemning the murder of Lone. He claimed that the killing was "another instance of excesses of the Indian military inside occupied Kashmir…We condemn this attack. Only last month the Shiv Sina had carried out an attack on Abdul Ghani Lone. We are saddened by his death and condole with his family, the APHC leaders and all Kashmiris."

April 17, 2002: Union Government said a close watch was being kept on situation in Jammu and Kashmir following reports that the All Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC) planned to set up a cross-border political command on both sides of the Line of Control (LoC). In a written reply to Rajya Sabha, Minister of State for Home Vidyasagar said, "The announcement by the Hurriyat regarding its intention to set up its own election commission to elect representatives from both sides of LoC in Jammu and Kashmir could be a step in the same direction". He said there were reports that Kashmiri expatriate community was pressing the Hurriyat for setting up such a command.

March 29, 2002: Minister of State for External Affairs Omar Abdullah accused the separatist alliance All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) leadership of receiving donations from abroad and "using it for personal purpose" rather than carry forward the ‘movement for Kashmiris’. "Funds do come for the Hurriyat leaders and if these people are so clean then why are not they filing their income tax returns? Abdullah said during a panel discussion for a media enterprise. Abdullah claimed that money coming from outside the State was used by APHC leaders for leading a lavish life style. Meanwhile, senior Hurriyat Conference leader Abdul Gani Lone admitted at the same forum that funds were received from abroad. According to him, expatriate Kashmiris donate funds for the Kashmir movement.

March 26, 2002: Consequent to the arrest of Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) Chief and senior All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) leader Yaseen Malik on March 25 in connection with the seizure of one lakh US dollars, the Jammu and Kashmir and Delhi Police raided the APHC office in New Delhi. Confirming the raid, APHC spokesperson Abdul Majid Bandey said that "we believe that the whole exercise is to scuttle the voice of Hurriyat Conference. In fact the vested interests in this country have always tried to sabotage any process aimed at peaceful resolution of Kashmir issue."

March 25, 2002: A day after the seizure of one hundred thousand US dollars from two persons at Kud, on the Srinagar Jammu highway, Police arrested the senior All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) executive member and chairman of Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF), Yaseen Malik, for his alleged involvement in the Hawala (illegal money transfer) transaction and booked him under the Prevention of Terrorism Ordinance (POTO). Malik was arrested during a press conference at the APHC’s Central Office, at Rajbagh, Srinagar and questioned briefly and later sent for sustained interrogation to Udhampur. At the press conference Yaseen Malik said that the incident was "a campaign of vilification against the Kashmiri separatist leaders." He claimed that it was aimed at sabotaging the Hurriyat’s election process. He also claimed that the Government of India had launched a "media war" against the APHC immediately after the separatist alliance had rejected the suggestion of participating in the forthcoming State Legislative Assembly elections. Malik denied that the Pakistan-based JKLF functionary Altaf Qadiri had handed over the money to the two persons arrested on March 24 in Kathmandu. He also claimed that Qadiri had never visited Nepal during the last seven years. He also denied having ever met the Batmaloo woman, Shazia, one of the two persons arrested.

March 24, 2002: Terrorist outfit Al Jehad has issued a warning to the people not to take part in the forthcoming State Legislative Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir. The outfit, said "we have not rendered sacrifices for power, but our struggle is based on the goal of freedom." Without naming anybody, the statement warned secessionist leaders not to participate in the elections or "get ready for the consequences." Al Jehad is the third terrorist outfit which has issued such a warning. As reported earlier, the Jammu and Kashmir Islamic Front (JKIF) warned the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) leadership of serious consequences if they participated in the elections while another outfit Hizb-ul-Mujahideen (HM) asked the State Government employees to stay away from the poll process.

March 24, 2002: Police seized one lakh US dollars from two activists of the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF), including a woman, at Kud on the Jammu-Srinagar national highway. Official sources have indicated that both of them are likely to be booked under the Prevention of Terrorism Ordinance (POTO). The money, according to police sources, were reportedly meant for the JKLF President Yasin Malik. The arrested persons have reportedly revealed during interrogation that they had received the money from a All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) activist Altaf Qadiri at a hotel in the Bagh Bazaar area of Kathmandu in Nepal few days back.

March 20, 2002: Terrorist groups in Jammu and Kashmir have warned the separatist All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) leadership of "serious consequences" if they participated in the forthcoming elections to the State Legislative Assembly. They also asked State government employees to boycott the poll process. "If any Hurriyat leader including Syed Ali Shah Geelani and Democratic Freedom Party leader Shabir Ahmad Shah are found involved in any (election) activity, it would attract serious consequences," Jammu and Kashmir Islamic Front (JKIF), said in a statement.

March 19, 2002: Union Minister of State for External Affairs Omar Abdullah has asked the separatist alliance––All Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC)––leaders to participate in the forthcoming elections to the State Legislative Assembly in Jammu and Kashmir and prove their acceptability with "ballots and not bullets." He said, in Sopore, "It is an irony that Hurriyat Conference leaders still seek to move ahead with the backing of bullets and make the lives of Kashmiris more miserable."

March 4, 2002: Tapan Kumar Bose, nominated by the secessionist All Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC) as one of the two ‘Chief Election Commissioners’ of its ‘Election Commission’, demanded a cease-fire by terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) as a pre-condition to the Hurriyat’s ‘election process’. He was speaking to reporters in Srinagar after attending the Hurriyat’s general council meeting.

February 13, 2002: Even as the secessionist All Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC) announced, its ‘six-member election commission’ to hold ‘elections’ in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K), two Union Ministers rejected the proposal on the same day. The Ministers also called on the Hurriyat to participate in the forthcoming elections to the State Legislative Assembly. The 23-party separatist alliance’s chairman Abdul Gani Bhat said that the APHC was seeking to prove its representative character in order to hold talks for resolution of the Kashmir issue and not membership in the State Assembly, which he claimed, had no role to play in the resolution of the issue. The ‘six member commission’ has two former Pakistani judges. While Justice Sajjad Ali Shah, former chief justice of Pakistan would head the ‘commission’ in Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK), Tapan Bose, an Indian human rights activist based in Kathmandu would head the ‘commision’ in J&K. The two would also be co-chairmen of the ‘commission’. The Hurriyat chairman also announced that Ved Bhasin, Justice Khursheed, Sadiq Waheed Raja and Zafar Mehdi will be election commissioners in Jammu, PoK, Ladakh and Kashmir, respectively. When asked about the exclusion of Gilgit and Baltistan, parts of the former Princely State of J&K and presently under Pakistan’s occupation and direct administration, the Chairman said that "we are passing through a very critical stage and we do not want to involve ourselves in any controversy." He also appealed to "… the Prime Minister of India and President of Pakistan on behalf of the people of Jammu and Kashmir and the Hurriyat that they join us in our peaceful and political efforts which are democratic in form and content".

Clarifying on the motive of constituting the ‘election commission’, Abdul Gani Bhat said that "Allegations are levelled against us that we do not represent the people’s aspirations," and added that it was a challenge which the alliance had accepted willingly. Reacting to the Hurriyat initiative, Union Minister of State for External Affairs, Omar Abdullah, said that "… the Assembly election is to be supervised by the Election Commission (EC) which is today internationally recognised as being completely free from political interference" and added that the government’s EC will conduct the Assembly polls. While making these remarks, he also said that if the APHC is not willing to participate in the elections to the State Assembly, "it does not matter".

February 12, 2002: Rejecting the Hurriyat’s initiative, Union Minister of State for Home, I D Swamy said at Jammu, that the Government’s EC was competent to conduct free and fair elections and added that it was ridiculous to constitute own election commissions to contest elections. He also remarked that "Instead of looking for excuses to shirk their responsibilities Hurriyat leaders should come forward and join democratic process to prove their representative character".

February 11, 2002: A partial strike was reported to have been observed in the Kashmir valley region to mark the death of Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) co-founder, Mohammad Maqbool Bhat. The call for the strike had been given by the secessionist All Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC).

February 8, 2002: Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister, Farooq Abdullah, asked the secessionist All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) to contest the forthcoming State Legislative Assembly elections and said "this will disillusion them about being the representatives of the people of the State… If they have guts, let them come forward and contest the free and fair polls scheduled later this year. This exercise will remove their misconception about being representatives of the people as claimed by them for the past one decade." However, the Chief Minister pointed out that the chances of APHC leaders’ participation in the elections were grim as they would stand exposed not only before the people of the State but also before the international community. The Chief Minister also said that the Hurriyat is "nothing but a stooge of Pakistan."

February 8, 2002: Pakistan Government has decided to fully support the secessionist All Parties Hurriyat Conference’s (APHC) sponsored elections on both sides of the Line of Control (LoC) for the election of its representatives to participate in any tripartite talks for the solution of Kashmir issue. Quoting official sources, reports have indicated that the Federal government after in-depth discussions with the Kashmiri leadership has decided to unequivocally support the APHC's decision to organise election in Jammu and Kashmir as well as Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK). An official announcement to this effect is expected to be made in the next few days.

February 5, 2002: The former Chairman of the secessionist alliance, All Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC), Mirwaiz Umer Farooq, denied that any constituent of the alliance would be participating in the forthcoming elections to the State Legislative Assembly, to be held in the second half of 2002. Miwaiz Farooq was responding to a statement by K C Pant on February 4, indicating that some members of the alliance would participate in the elections. K C Pant is the Union Government’s representative mandated with the task of holding talks with Kashmiri organisations and individuals.

The Mirwaiz also said that that the announcement of the formation of an Election Commission by the executive body of the conglomerate was aimed at proving the representative character of the leadership and resolving the Kashmir issue. The proposed APHC’s Election Commission, he said, would be " an Independent Commission and will comprise people who have an international credibility and are acceptable to India, Pakistan and people of the State." He denied reports that indicated that there were differences within the alliance on the issue of the Commission.

Meanwhile, another senior leader of the alliance, Abdul Gani Lone, accused the Union government of attempting to create dissension within the alliance. He added that the decision taken by the APHC in 1996 regarding its non-participation in Assembly elections that are "conducted and supervised by the Election Commission of India" still stands.

February 4, 2002: Speaking to reporters in New Delhi, K C Pant said that there was a "visible change" in the thinking of the secessionist All Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC) and that it might contest the Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir that are to be held in the second half of 2002. K C Pant is the Union Government’s representative mandated with the task of holding talks with Kashmiri organisations and individuals. He was speaking to reporters after a meeting with Wajahat Habibullah, a former J&K government official and reported to be talking to Kashmiri groups on behalf of the government.

January 31, 2002: The General Council of the All Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC) met in Srinagar and endorsed the APHC Executive Committee to have elections in Jammu and Kashmir under Hurriyat’s own election commission to prove its representative character. Hurriyat members who attended the meeting said that the alliance’s leadership overcame stiff resistance from members of the general council before the controversial January 28 decision of Hurriyat’s executive was ratified. The dissenting members were reported to be agitated over the manner the decisions are taken by the executive without taking them into confidence.

Meanwhile, in a separate statement, a Hurriyat constituent, Jammu and Kashmir People’s League (JKPL) strongly objected to the decision of having polls under Hurriyat’s own election commission. The statement said that "Hurriyat’s dramatic announcement has raised doubts about its representative character thereby putting the whole leadership of the movement into crisis". A Hurriyat spokesperson clarified that the statement issued by JKPL was that of rival faction of the League headed by Pakistan-based Mohammad Farooq Rehmani. Six constituents of the alliance namely Kashmir Mass Movement, Traders Federation, Khawateen Kashmir, Khawateen-e-Markaz, Bazam-i-Tawheed and Tahreek-e-Alhahlihadees, boycotted the January 31 meeting.

January 14, 2002: A three member delegation of secessionist All Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC) has left New Delhi, abandoning proposed meetings with the foreign diplomats. The three members are reported to have decided to abandon meetings in protest against the arrest of fifty Hurriyat activists in Jammu and Kashmir on January 13.

January 13, 2002: The secessionist All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC), in a statement, welcomed the stand taken by Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf during his speech of January 12. APHC chairman Abdul Ghani Bhat, speaking in Srinagar, while welcoming the President’s statements on Kashmir asked India’s Union government to respond positively to find a solution. Meanwhile, in a separate statement, senior APHC leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani, while reacting to President Musharraf’s remarks, said "… the speech is a realistic one if viewed in its totality" and added "… the speech is appreciable as far as Musharraf’s stance vis-a-vis Kashmir is concerned." However, referring to the ban imposed by Pakistan on the Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) and the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), he said "Nobody has the right to ban such individual acts where Muslims come to help their brethren."

January 9, 2002: Mohammad Ashraf Saraf, a leader of All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC), has called upon the international community to draw a clear distinction between terrorism and ‘freedom movement’. Terrorism would have to be differentiated from the "just and legal struggle of Kashmiri people for the implementation of UN resolution", Saraf said in Islamabad. On the Kashmir issue, he said militancy would end "the day India withdrew its 700,000 troops from the valley." Commenting on cross-border terrorism, he claimed that the number of Pakistanis involved in militancy in Kashmir was a fraction of Indian paramilitary forces present.

December 25, 2001: Unidentified terrorists lobbed a grenade at the car of All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) leader Abdul Gani Lone near the Gujjars hostel in Doda town, but failed to hit the target. No arrests have been made so far in connection with the incident.

December 21, 2001: Separatist leaders have termed as ‘shocking and unfortunate’ the Union government’s decision to recall the High Commissioner from Islamabad and terminate the land route link between the two countries in the wake of the December 13 terrorist attack on Parliament in New Delhi. The leaders voicing this opinion included Jammu and Kashmir Democratic Freedom Party chief Shabir Ahmad Shah, spokesman of the All Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC), Jamait-e-Islami chief Ghulam Mohammad Bhat, the ruling National Conference (NC) general secretary Sheikh Nazir Ahmad, a senior APHC leader, Syed Ali Shah Geelani and the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) chairman Yasin Malik.

December 12, 2001: All Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC) chief Prof Abdul Gani Bhat, said that the Conference is expecting a major breakthrough on the Kashmir issue within 12 hours. Speaking in the same venue, a senior Hurriyat leader who is also the chief of the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) said that he also expected a change and a breakthrough in the solution to Kashmir issue within a few days. The two leaders refused to elaborate.

November 19, 2001: Five unidentified terrorists and a security force (SF) officer were killed when SFs conducted an operation to trap an unspecified number of terrorists in the Sadhu Ganga forests, Kupwara district. The operation was launched after SFs received information that a meeting of terrorist leaders was convened in the area to discuss the proposal of the All Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC) for a cease-fire in the State. The operation was continuing when reports last came in.

November 14, 2001: All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) leader Syed Ali Geelani in his telephonic address from Jammu and Kashmir claimed that the security of Pakistan was threatened after the US attack on Afghanistan.

November 14, 2001: Differences have emerged within the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) over the its cease-fire proposal as senior leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani disassociated himself from it saying that he was not taken into confidence. He also reportedly described the proposal as ‘irrelevant’. According to him, "I do not think the proposal has any relevance, and I am not a party to it, as I was not consulted." Stating that the APHC should have discussed the issue with the terrorist leadership and taken them into confidence, he added, "Since they did not discuss it, militants rejecting the proposal is natural." In Geelani’s perception, the Hurriyat Conference cannot announce a cease-fire as it is a political platform. In this context, he opined that the move has to be made either by the Indian security forces or by the terrorist outfits. He also said, "But security forces are not interested in it as they want to crush the ongoing movement with their power. On the other hand militants want government of India to accept Kashmir as disputed and show its willingness to solve the issue under UN resolutions or by other peaceful means."

November 13, 2001: Rejecting the All Parties Hurriyat Conference's (APHC) appeal for a cease-fire in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K), the Muttahida Jehad Council (MJC) said such a step would "severely damage the ongoing freedom movement approaching to its decisive phase rather benefiting it."

The rejection came at an emergency session of the MJC presided over by Chairman Syed Salahuddin in Muzaffarabad. As reported earlier, APHC Chief Abdul Ghani Butt, on November 12, issued an appeal for cease-fire in J&K by all groups, including the terrorist outfits and security forces. The meeting termed the APHC appeal as "imprudent and unwise step aimed at to consciously or unconsciously damage the ongoing freedom struggle at such a time when the movement is successfully heading towards triumph in all respects." The statement also added, "If the Hurriyat leaders have exhausted, they should quit and lead the life of a recluse and avoid impairing the freedom struggle with unnecessary statements. We have a humble and sincere submission that they should refrain from giving such meaningless and irresponsible statements."

November 12, 2001: The All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) called for a ‘comprehensive’ cease-fire by all parties, including the terrorists and security forces, as part of its three-point formula to resolve the Kashmir issue. The 26-party separatist alliance of political and religious groups said the formula also envisaged trilateral talks and setting a time-frame for a solution to the Kashmir issue. APHC Chairman Abdul Ghani Bhat said, "We propose negotiations involving India, Pakistan and true representatives of people of Jammu and Kashmir, simultaneous cease-fire by all involved and a time-frame for resolution of Kashmir issue." He opined that chances of a solution to the Kashmir issue have improved especially after the US President George Bush’s recent offer to bring India and Pakistan together to have meaningful talks on Kashmir taking into account the "wishes of the people of the State". Elaborating on the Hurriyat’s cease-fire proposal, Bhat said it was in favour of a ‘conjoint cease-fire’. According to him, "all concerned need to go for cease-fire simultaneously so as it does not meet the same fate as that of a unilateral cease-fire announced by Hizb-ul-Mujahideen in July 2000 and Indian government’s unilateral cease-fire in November last year." He claimed that the Hurriyat leaders were the true representatives of the people of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K). He also alleged that people of J&K were victims of ‘state terrorism’.

Meanwhile, senior Hurriyat leader Abdul Ghani Lone said the APHC leadership had been holding informal talks with the Union government for resolving the Kashmir issue. Lone, however, claimed that the Union government violated the terms of references agreed between the two sides which included facilitating the Hurriyat leadership to go to Pakistan for holding talks with the terrorist leadership there. Lone added that the Hurriyat had indicated to the Union government that it should hold talks only with the APHC as "we would be taking care of all separatist parties of the State." He also observed that the APHC would not participate in the forthcoming Legislative Assembly elections.

November 1, 2001: Suspected terrorists launched an unsuccessful attack on the residence of Abdul Ghani Lone, a senior leader of the All Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC) at Srinagar. There were no casualties.

October 5, 2001: All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) leader Molvi Abbas Ansari said in Srinagar that activities in Jammu and Kashmir were ‘‘freedom struggle" and not terrorism. He said, "The sacrifices were not made that our struggle should be labelled as terrorism.

October 3, 2001: All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) senior leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani, said there was need for differentiating between ‘freedom movement of Kashmir’ and terrorism. He claimed that India had promised at national and international levels to grant the right to self-determination to the people of Kashmir. According to him, "To describe militant struggle in Jammu and Kashmir as terrorism and impose ban on it after dubbing it as terrorism is against the US Kashmir policy and assertions of the Americans."

October 2, 2001: The All Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC) condemned the October 1-suicide attack. A spokesman for the outfit said, conglomerate had condemned such incidents even in the past when innocent blood was spilled. He added that the underlying causes that trigger such attacks needed to be looked into. He called upon the Union government to shun rigidity and solve the Kashmir issue peacefully through diplomatic means. Members of several other pro-secessionist Kashmiri organisations such as the National Front, the High Court Bar Association, Democratic Liberation Party, too, released statements condemning the attack.

September 30, 2001: A HuM spokesperson in a statement released from Muzaffarabad claimed that Indian authorities had planned a new ‘conspiracy’ to fight back terrorist activity in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K). Reacting to a statement made by J&K Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah, the spokesman said the it was "designed to create a rift between [the] Mujahideen and the APHC leadership." Abdullah said in the State Legislative Assembly that his administration has provided security to the All Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC) leadership as terrorist outfits wanted to kill them.

September 21, 2001: While some extremist outfits, including terrorist outfits called for a strike over the issue, the All Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC) opposed the strike call and supported Pakistan’s decision. The strike call was given by Dukhtaraan-e-Millat (DeM), Al-Omar Mujahideen, Jamiat-ul-Mujahideen (JuM), Al-Badr, Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) and Harkat-ul-Mujahideen (HuM). These terrorist groups, in separate statements, criticised the APHC’s stand.

September 20, 2001: Differences have surfaced within the All Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC) as also between various terrorist outfits in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) over the proposed alliance of the US and Pakistan to launch possible military strikes against the Taliban regime in Afghanistan. According to the report, while a majority of the APHC leaders have welcomed this alliance, the Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI) representative Syed Ali Shah Geelani is reported to have criticised the development. The Hurriyat also reportedly opposed the call given by some organisations for a strike on September 21 to protest against Pakistan’s decision to join the US alliance against Afghanistan.

August 16, 2001: Minister of State for External Affairs Omar Abdullah said, in New Delhi, that Pakistan’s use of the concept of Jehad to legitimise cross-border terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir will pose a grave threat to world peace. According to him, "why doesn’t the world understand that this country has millions of Muslim population who do not legitimise the Jehad call of Pakistan because they know it very well that secular traditions are taken utmost care of in this country." He also added that the Union government should investigate the overseas funding of All Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC) and other separatist outfits in Jammu and Kashmir. He said, "when their (Hurriyat Conference’s) funds will be stopped once for all, they will come to the negotiating table and also make attempts to restore peace in the State."

August 15, 2001: Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah, speaking at an Independence Day function, said the All Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC) was responsible for the State’s destruction ever since the outbreak of militancy in 1990. While making his ceremonial speech after unfurling the Indian flag at Bakhshi Stadium, Srinagar he opined, "Pakistan would not usurp an inch of Indian soil even if the current proxy war went on for many more years." He also claimed that if Pakistan wanted his resignation as a precondition to stop cross-border terrorism in the State, he would step down. Abdullah also added that India, as well as J&K, were enjoying the world’s best form of freedom in religion, politics and media. Commenting on the current incident of throwing acid on Kashmiri women, he alleged that the terrorists had a game plan in it. He argued that when every woman would wear a Burqa, it would facilitate the terrorists to use females for carrying weapons and even striking at soft targets. Urging the security forces to observe restraint and show a human face in combating terrorism, the Chief Minister observed that not every Kashmiri Muslim was a supporter of Pakistan.

July 31, 2001: A funeral was organised for the slain Hizb terrorist at Goigam. The funeral was led by a senior leader of the All Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC), Syed Ali Shah Geelani. Several terrorists, brandishing weapons reportedly participated in the funeral.

July 30, 2001: A senior leader of the separatist All Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC), Abdul Gani Lone blamed the Union Government for the influx of foreign mercenaries in J&K. Lone, also the chairman of the People’s Conference, claimed, if the "…Government of India offered negotiations in 1995-96, there would have been no question of foreign militants joining the Kashmiris … in the State". This, he said, had, thus, ‘complicated" things in the State. However, he added that terrorists in the State were predominantly local, as the number of foreign mercenaries was less than one per cent of the total. Commenting on the Indo-Pak Agra Summit, he urged both the countries to continue the dialogue process for resolving the 54-year-old Kashmir issue. "Talk, talk and talk till the Kashmir dispute is resolved. There is no other alternative but negotiations through which the imbroglio can be resolved," Lone said.

July 29, 2001: Shabir Chaudhury, a former President of the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF), said that the Pakistani President should first seek a mandate from the people of Pakistan before talking on international issues and contended that Musharraf’s meeting with the All Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC) leadership was "only to project himself as a Kashmir representative at international fora."

July 12, 2001: In Srinagar, Police announced that two youth involved in the June 8 grenade attack at the Chrar-e-Sharief mosque have been arrested. Police added that the youth confessed that they were aided in the attack by two leaders of the All Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC), identified as Dr Hubbi and Peer Hafizullah Makhdoomi.

July 10, 2001: The Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) in a meeting at said that Pakistan’s invitation to the All Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC) leadership for the ‘high tea’ and welcome ceremony of Pakistani President Gen. Musharraf has been made "subject to the approval of New Delhi and thus tantamounts to its contempt."

July 4, 2001: Chief of Hizb-ul-Mujahideen (HM), Syed Salahuddin, welcomed the Musharraf-Vajpayee meeting on the condition that it is held for resolving the core issue of Kashmir, which according to him is "the bone of contention between the two countries for the last 50 years." Asked about whether the Musharraf regime has taken the terrorist outfits into confidence about the negotiations, he remarked that the Kashmiri leadership including the All Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC) and Kashmiri leaders on both the sides of the Line of Control (LoC) have been taken into confidence.

June 23, 2001: All Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC) Chairman Abdul Gani Bhat has formally sought a meeting with Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf. The APHC has sought the meeting with the Pakistan President during his proposed July 14-16, 2001, visit to India.

June 8, 2001: Mirwaiz Omer Farooq, former Chairman of the All Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC) extended full support to the forthcoming Indo-Pak talks. Addressing a huge gathering at Jamia Mosque in Srinagar he said ‘these talks would go a long way in breaking the ice over Kashmir issue and reduce the tension in sub-continent’. He also added that people have a lot of expectations with these talks between the heads of India and Pakistan.

June 2, 2001: Union Government’s chief negotiator on Kashmir K C Pant stated in Jammu that his six days long ‘Mission Kashmir’ has been successful. He, however, criticised the All Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC) for, what he called, ‘ignoring emotions and sentiments of the Kashmiri people’.

May 22, 2001: Mirwaiz Umer Farooq, Chairman of the All Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC) said in New Delhi, that the peace move in Kashmir could progress in the right direction if the Centre accepted Pakistan as a party to the dispute and facilitate its involvement, even at a later stage. Diluting the rigid stand taken by the APHC on the issue of talks, Mirwaiz said if any such communication was received from the government, then the modalities of who would be talking to whom could be worked out later.

May 20, 2001: Democratic Freedom Party (DFP) Chief Shabir Ahmad said, in Srinagar, that he has sent a copy of the letter he received from KC Pant, the Union Government’s representative for proposed negotiations on the Kashmir issue, to other leaders in Jammu and Kashmir. They included members of the All Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC). He added he was seeking their views on the issue.

May 17, 2001: A delegation of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) which was on its way to join a protest demonstration against the incident in Shopian was detained as a preventive measure. In a similar incident, Security Force (SF) sources said a foreign mercenary was killed in retaliatory firing after a patrol party was attacked at Chakpora, on May 16. But, locals disputed the SF version and claimed that the mercenary, who was undergoing treatment in a local hospital, was arrested and later killed.

April 28, 2001: The Muttahida Jihad Council (MJC), an alliance of 18 terrorist groups, asked India to allow the All Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC) delegation to tour Pakistan, besides taking steps for settlement of the "core issue." Syed Salahuddin, Chairman of the MJC, in a statement in Muzaffarabad said, ‘India must allow the Hurriyat delegation to proceed to Pakistan as per its programme’.

April 26, 2001: The All Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC) decided to stay away from the dialogue process with the Union Government saying that ‘it is not ready to join the crowded train which goes nowhere’. In an executive council meeting of the APHC at its Rajbagh headquarters, the alliance announced that an everlasting solution could be found only through tripartite dialogue involving Pakistan. The APHC Chairman Abdul Gani Bhat reportedly stated that "We consider that the Indian Government has chosen to talk with a crowd. And, while talking to a crowd you will be talking in a fish market." He, however, stated that "We are ready to enter into a dialogue with the Centre provided we are allowed to go to Pakistan, and New Delhi accepts Hurriyat Conference as the only representative body in Jammu and Kashmir." APHC decided to stick to its demand of a visit to Pakistan by saying that "it is the only realistic path o the dispute’s resolution."

April 25, 2001: Syed Ali Shah Geelani, former Chairman of the APHC, addressing a function to commemorate the silver jubilee celebrations of the Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI), at Nizamuddin in New Delhi rejected the unconditional talks offer by the Union government by terming it a drama. He said that ‘the dialogue is useless as the Indian government is only trying to legitimize its military occupation of Kashmir under the garb of peace talks.’

April 23, 2001: The General Council of the All Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC) that was mandated by the alliance’s Executive Council to take a decision on the Government’s invitation for talks on the Kashmir issue met in Srinagar, but failed to take a decision. The issue has now been referred back to the Executive Council. As reported before, the Executive Council met earlier on April 17 to discuss the issue, and failed to reach a consensus and had, hence, referred the matter to the General Council. During the meeting several constituents of the alliance rejected the proposal of talks without the participation of Pakistan and terrorists active in the State’s insurgency. Among those who advocated rejection of the invitation were Ghulam Nabi Shah (cited as the representative of the Traders Federation); Muhammad Shafi Reshi - Islamic Students League (ISL); Bashir Ahmad Kanth - Jamiat-e-Hamdania; Mushtaq Ahmad Shawl - Anjuman-e-Auqaf-e-Jamia Masjid; Muhammad Shafi Lone, Ashraf Qadri & Ghulam Nabi Telbali - State Employees Conference; Imtiaz Ahmad - Muslim League; Ms. Zamrooda - Muslim Khawateen Markaz; B A Kanth - Jamiat-e-Hamdani; and Keng - Anjuman-e-Tableegul Islam. The only constituent reported to have urged acceptance of the invitation was Nahida Nasreen of the Khawateen-e-Kashmir, while Nazir Ahmad Runga of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court Bar Association and Fazal Haque Qureshi of the Peoples Political Front preferred to reserve their opinion.

April 23, 2001: In Srinagar, four activists of the All Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC) were injured when a grenade was lobbed by unidentified terrorists at the headquarters of the alliance. Three outfits, the Al Qasas, Mujahideen Karballa and Mujahideen Haque have claimed responsibility for the attack.

April 17, 2001: A Hizb-ul-Mujahideen (HM) spokesperson, Salim Hashmi, expressed the hope that the All Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC) will not take any decision on the Indian offer for talks without consulting terrorist outfits. He said there was no change in the Hizb’s conditions for a dialogue and wanted India to "release all the detained Kashmiris, reduce the number of its troops in occupied Kashmir to pre-1988 position, acknowledge the disputed status of Kashmir and agree for tripartite talks". Hashmi also denied that any of its cadres had surrendered in Jammu and Kashmir. Meanwhile, Sheikh Abdul Aziz, Chairman of the Jammu Kashmir People's League (JKPL) and a member of the APHC, who arrived in Lahore on a private visit, said Muslim countries ought to exert pressure on the Indian Government for a solution to the Kashmir issue. While describing the talks initiated by the Indian Government emissary K C Pant as an 'Indian ploy' he "called for accession of Kashmir to Pakistan.

April 16, 2001: The All Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC) announced that its key-decision making forum, the executive committee, will meet in a day or two to formulate its response to the Union Government’s invitation for dialogue to resolve the Jammu and Kashmir issue. APHC Chairman Abdul Ghani Bhat said though a formal invitation from chief interlocutor K C Pant was yet to reach the apex body of separatist outfits, the APHC executive is likely to meet in a day or two. He, however, reiterated Hurriyat's demand to involve Pakistan in the talks to resolve the Kashmir issue. Earlier, the APHC dismissed the government's announcement that it had begun a political dialogue on the Kashmir issue.

April 15, 2001: Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah, in Kralpora, said the invitation for talks by the Union Government was open to all and warned that the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) could boycott the peace process only at its own peril. According to him "The APHC would be eliminated if it does not join the talks" He said the Union government has invited all Kashmiri groups for talks, including the Hurriyat Conference. If the APHC chose to remain away from the process it would be isolated as in the 1996 general elections.

Meanwhile, Maulvi Mohammed Abas Hussain Ansari, one of the seven executive members of the APHC, said the Hurriyat did not receive any formal invitation for the dialogue. According to him, "This is all what the radio and TV are saying. I am here but I did not receive anything". Senior APHC leader Abdul Gani Lone, meanwhile, said, "There is a lot of noise that there is some communication but we have not received it, nobody from Hurriyat". Sources in the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) and the Muslim Conference also denied they had received any kind of communication, so far.

April 10, 2001: The Chairman of the All Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC), Abdul Ghani Bhat met the Pakistan High Commissioner to India, Qazi Ashraf Jehangir at New Delhi. The meeting comes in the wake of reports that internal dissension was building within the alliance on the issue of the government invitation to Kashmiri groups for negotiations to end the crisis. Earlier, the APHC Chief had termed the talks offer as a "gimmick" but another senior Hurriyat leader Abul Ghani Lone termed his reaction as a "personal view" and that the official Hurriyat response had to be formulated only after a meeting of the alliance’s Executive Committee, which yet to be fixed.

April 6, 2001: Several leaders of the All Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC) have dismissed the talks offer of the Central Government announced on April 5. The Hurriyat Chairman, Abdul Gani Bhat said that a dialogue with the Government would serve no purpose unless the proposed Hurriyat delegation’s visit to Pakistan was permitted. He however added that the talks offer would be discussed in a Hurriyat’s executive council meeting to be held within a week’s time. KC Pant, nominated as the Government representative for the proposed talks, made it clear that the talks offer is not meant only for "one formation" in Jammu and Kashmir. He added that those invited for the proposed dialogue include the J&K State Government, representatives of all political parties, trade unions and religious bodies, and Kashmiri outfits which, though engaged in terrorism, are desirous for "peace".

A senior leader of the Hurriyat, Mirwaiz Omer Farooq claimed that the talks offer was an attempt to dilute the international pressure on it. He added that any attempt to resolve the crisis must involve the three parties to the dispute including India, Pakistan and ‘true representatives of Kashmiris’. Democratic Freedom Party president Shabir Ahmad Shah too rejected the talks offer claiming that it would be futile if Pakistan was not involved. He added that groups such as the ruling National Conference or the Congress must not be involved since they "are representing India and if they participate it will create a mess".

April 5, 2001: Officials of the United States are visiting Kashmir to convince the All Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC) leaders to accept proposal for talk with the Government of India for which a formal invitation was made. The sources said, following the tough stand taken by the APHC that it would not accept the offer for talks unless the five-member Hurriyat team was allowed to visit Pakistan, the American officials would try to convince the separatists that the proposed visit to Pakistan would materialise after the first round of talks takes place in Delhi.

April 5, 2001: Government statement invited organisations from Jammu and Kashmir to participate in a dialogue aimed at resolving the crisis. The statement asked the State Government, all political parties, NGOs, trade unions, social and religious bodies as also Kashmiri terrorist outfits desirous of peace to hold the dialogue with the government representative, Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission K C Pant.  Referring to the All Party Hurriyat Conference’s (APHC) stand that talks should be unconditional, the statement said that since the Government has agreed to hold talks in the interest of early restoration of peace, it was for the Hurriyat Conference to consider whether "it would not be inconsistent for them to set pre-conditions for dialogue." The statement also noted the frequent demand from the Pakistan government for a dialogue on Kashmir. It invited Islamabad to help in carrying forward the dialogue by curbing cross-border terrorism and putting an end to the vicious anti-India propaganda emanating from there.

Reacting to the government statement, Hurriyat Conference said that it would discuss the talks offer with "all sections of peace loving" people of the State including its constituent parties at its executive meeting, to be held in Srinagar. However, the alliance chairman Abdul Gani Bhat told a news agency that no tangible solution to the Kashmir issue could be found without involving Pakistan.

March 29, 2001: A spokesman for the All Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC) said, the alliance would not enter into a dialogue with India’s Union Government until the visit to Pakistan of the delegation chosen by APHC Executive Council materialised. The spokesman was reacting to news reports that the Union government might nominate K C Pant, Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission, to head a proposed team to conduct negotiations with the Hurriyat.

March 21, 2001: Abdul Gani Bhat, chairman of the All Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC) said the alliance would hold talks with the Union government only after deliberations with terrorist outfits in Jammu and Kashmir and the military regime of Pakistan. He also urged the Union government to permit the proposed Pakistan visit by a Hurriyat-delegation.

March 2, 2001: The J&K High Court, meanwhile, dismissed a batch of 22 petitions filed against the arrests of All Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC) leaders, and other secessionist outfits. The High Court ruled that the detention orders were valid since the arrested persons supported terrorist groups and questioned the legality of accession both of which pose a serious threat to the security of State. The petitions challenged the arrests of these leaders after the 1999 parliamentary polls.

February 11, 2001: A former chairman of the secessionist All Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC) Mirwaiz Umer Farooq said in New Delhi that the outfit plans to open four new offices abroad as part of its propaganda efforts. He claimed that the "…four offices will be set up in Brussels, New York, London and Saudi Arabia as part of … efforts to mobilize global opinion about Kashmir issue". In the statement, the Mirwaiz also criticized the Union government for the delay in issuing passports to the five-member Hurriyat delgation, which was to visit Pakistan and hold talks with the government there and terrorist outfits based in that country.

February 4, 2001: A senior All Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC) leader Syed Ali Geelani, said the only way to solve the Kashmir issue was to rely on international agreements. He also claimed that the Indian security forces were not adhering to the "non-initiation of combat operations" in Jammu and Kashmir.

February 3, 2001: The Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister, Farooq Abdullah, in Srinagar said that the All Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC) cannot set the agenda on the Kashmir issue.

January 20, 2001: The All Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC), at an extraordinary meeting held in Srinagar, accused the Union Home Minister L. K. Advani and other leaders of scuttling the peace process initiated by Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee. Also, the APHC resolved unanimously not to press for granting passports to all the members of its delegation who are scheduled to visit Pakistan for talks with terrorist leaders and the Pakistani government. The Hurriyat has also given a call for a general strike in the Kashmir valley on January 23 in protest against the recent custodial killings and unjustified arrests.

January 18, 2001: Jamaat-e-Islamia leader and former All Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC) Chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani said, he would definitely visit Pakistan along with other Hurriyat leaders if the Union Government issued travel documents.

January 14, 2001: The Chief of Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT), Hafiz Mohammad Saeed in Muzaffarabad, said terrorist outfits would not accept any formula other than the 'liberation of Kashmir'. He said that terrorist outfits' leadership would find an opportunity to sit together as a result of the forthcoming visit of the All Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC) delegation to Pakistan.

January 8, 2001: A spokesperson of the United Jihad Council (UJC), an umbrella organisation of various terrorist outfits, Ishtiaq Ahmeed quoting the UJC Chairman Syed Salahuddin Ahmed, said in Muzaffarabad, that the forthcoming visit of the All Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC) delegation to Pakistan would be result-oriented if India provided passports to all members of Hurriyat executive council. The spokesperson of the UJC reiterated the three conditions put forward by it before the Indian Government for talks: New Delhi should recognize the disputed nature of Kashmir, release all arrested terrorists and withdraw its security forces from Jammu and Kashmir. He added that the Hurriyat delegation would apprise Pakistani officials of the prevailing situation in Jammu and Kashmir as the delegation will be visiting Pakistan at the invitation of Islamabad.

The Jamiat-ul-Mujahideen in a statement released on January 8 in Muzaffarabad asked the Kashmiris "not to pin hopes on the All Parties Hurriyat Conference because the solution to the conflict could only be achieved through gun".

The former chairman of the APHC, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq has said that the Indian Government is pursuing a policy of creating differences among the APHC leadership by delaying the issue of providing visas for their impending visit to Pakistan.

January 7, 2001: United Jihad Council (UJC) Chairman and Hizb-ul-Mujahideen (HuM) 'Supreme Commander' Syed Salahuddin said in Islamabad that "no formula negating jihad objectives would be acceptable to Kashmiri Mujahideen". Salahuddin pointed out that all terrorist outfits have a consensus that they would not let India maintain its 'occupation' of Jammu and Kashmir under any deceitful tactics. He also added that the Indian Government has been exercising delay tactics to stop the Hurriyat members from visiting Pakistan.

January 5, 2001: The leader of the All Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC) and President of the Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen, Maulana Mohammad Abbas Ansari, ruled out the APHC’s proposed visit to Pakistan if the Indian Government refuses to issue passports to all seven members of its executive council.

December 30, 2000: The Hizb-ul Mujahideen opposed the holding of local level elections in Jammu and Kashmir. The statement claimed that holding of the polls was a "drama which was bound to create chaos and confusion". It also asked the All Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC) to make public its stand on this issue. Hizb-ul-Mujahideen Chief Syed Salahuddin, stated that the proposed visit of the Hurriyat leadership to Pakistan "would prove to be an exercise in futility if all the seven member of alliance's executive council were not included in the delegation." He added that, ".. It can create an impression that the alliance is divided into moderate and extremist people."

December 24, 2000: The Muttahida Jihad Council (MJC), a collective body of the various terrorist outfits, in a statement released in Islamabad, said Jihad would continue in Jammu and Kashmir. The MJC also asked the All Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC) leadership "to keep in mind that Mujahideen would not surrender their arms and that talks with Indian on any formula in this context are quite impossible". It added, "The Council has also taken an oath from all the groups in its fold that they would not accept any formula of the APHC individually".

December 22, 2000: The Chairman of All Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC) Abdul Ghani Bhat expressed the hope that the solution of Kashmir issue will be made during year 2001. He pointed out that "The historical elements are proceeding on lines that there is left no alternative for India, Pakistan and Kashmiris and for other friendly countries but to find out a respectable, just and durable solution to the Kashmir dispute". Responding to queries on the Hurriyat leadership's proposed travel to Pakistan Bhat said that the "Hurriyat trip to Islamabad is vital to maintaining the momentum of the peace process."

December 17, 2000: At a meeting of its executive committee, the All Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC) formally welcomed the Ramadan cease-fire announced by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and called for talks with the government on the Kashmir issue. A Hurriyat spokesman said the meeting of the seven member executive committee discussed "the situation arising out of the unilateral ceasefire and unanimously reiterated its stand that Hurriyat will take part in any meaningful and result-oriented political process aimed at resolving the Kashmir issue permanently." All top Hurriyat leaders attended the executive council meeting, including chairman Abdul Gani Bhat, Mirwaiz Umer Farooq, Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Abdul Ghani Lone, Mohammad Yaseen Malik, Maulana Mohammad Abbas Ansari and Sheikh Abdul Aziz.

Mild clashes occurred between supporters of the Hurriyat leaders outside the venue of the meeting. Supporters of pro-independence leader Mohammad Yaseen Malik, also the chairman of the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF), indulged in a sloganeering duel with pro-Pakistan supporters of Geelani. Later, the leaders of the alliance maintained there was complete unity within the front and dismissed speculation of any imminent split.

Indian intelligence inputs indicated that four Hurriyat leaders, who had earlier welcomed the cease-fire in their individual capacity, were under threat from various terrorist outfits operating in J&K. These leaders are the Hurriyat chief Bhat, A G Lone, Mirwaiz Farooque and Yasin Malik.

December 11, 2000: A senior leader of the All Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC), Abdul Gani Lone, in New Delhi, said that all foreign mercenaries would have to leave Kashmir once a political dialogue started. He also called on all terrorist outfits to give a positive response to Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s unilateral cease-fire offer. As reported earlier a controversy is already on regarding Abdul Lone's stand on foreign mercenaries, against whom he had spoken out earlier in Pakistan. A former APHC chairman, Syed Ali Shah Geelani criticised this stand, besides other leaders. In another development, a Hizb spokesman, Masood, on December 11 reportedly asked warring factions of the Hurriyat "…to exercise restraint and adopt a serious and unimpulsive line of action". The spokesman added that there… is no need at the moment to doubt the intentions of those leaders who are active in the movement and others too are implored not to indulge in mud-slinging against one another".

December 7, 2000: Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee said that Government could consider the proposal for a Pakistan visit by leaders of the All Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC) if such a request was made by them. He added that so far, "There has been no request from the Hurriyat for visiting Pakistan and if it comes, we could consider it." Speculation on a visit by Hurriyat leaders began after the Pakistan Foreign Secretary's proposal that the Hurriyat Conference hold talks with Islamabad and New Delhi separately to pave the way for a trilateral dialogue. When asked about the possibility of talks with Kashmiri terrorist groups active in Jammu and Kashmir, the Prime Minister said "we want to talk to our own people".

December 3, 2000: The Chairman of the All Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC), Abdul Ghani Bhat, held a round of ‘secret’ talks with two emissaries of Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, in New Delhi. Earlier, speaking to Radio Tehran, he predicted that the Kashmir issue was on the verge of a settlement and relations between India and Pakistan were going to normalize. He said that the announcement of a unilateral cease-fire by India was an admission of reality. He also said the APHC had not withdrawn support to the cease-fire announcement. While welcoming Pakistan's offer of "maximum restraint" on the Line of Control, the Hurriyat Chief asked New Delhi to initiate a dialogue, involving Pakistan too, to settle the Kashmir issue.

Meanwhile, two senior Hurriyat leaders have reiterated the separatist outfit's stand that the Indian Government must hold tripartite talks on the Kashmir dispute. Addressing a public rally in Humhama, Badgam District, former Hurriyat Chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani said the Centre "must accept Kashmir as a disputed territory and take measures for a trilateral dialogue involving Pakistan and people of Jammu and Kashmir". Emphasising the point, another former chairman, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq said the Indian government should initiate talks with Pakistan and the Hurriyat Conference to settle the Kashmir issue. Meanwhile, speaking in Bangalore, Defence Minister George Fernandes, while reacting to Pakistan’s announcement of exercising "maximum restraint" along the Line of Control (LoC), said talks with Pakistan could begin only if Islamabad actually stopped firing from across the border and the influx of terrorists into India.

November 28, 2000: Abdul Ghani Lone, a senior leader of the All Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC) said, in Rawalpindi, that all parties to the Kashmir issue should participate in talks to resolve the problem. In a response to the Indian cease-fire offer, Lone pointed that "if all the parties were to join the tripartite talks, then the problem of Kashmir could be resolved without the use of power".

November 26, 2000: A spokesman of the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad, said the outfit has warned other terrorist organisations and political parties, including the All Party Hurriyat Conference, against indicating willingness to enter into negotiations with the Indian Government on the Kashmir issue.

November 23, 2000: Chairman of the All Party Hurriyat Conference Abdul Ghani Bhat, said the organisation was willing to hold talks with militant leaders to work out a solution to the Kashmir issue provided the Indian Government allowed them to do so. Reacting to the Ramadan month-long unilateral cease-fire announced by the Centre in Jammu and Kashmir, he said if the cease-fire was accompanied by a "meaningful and result-oriented talks to settle the Kashmir, it would indicate a positive change in Indian Government’s policy towards Kashmir."

November 22, 2000: A senior leader of the All Party Hurriyat Conference, Abdul Ghani Lone assured the groups co-operation to Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee for his peace initiative. Addressing the executive body meeting of the Muslim Conference (K) at Rawalpindi, Abdul Lone added that though the offer from the Prime Minister "…does not meet our demands, it is good and we welcome it". Reacting on the rejection of the offer by some terrorist groups active in Kashmir's insurgency, he said that this was their right as "their wounds are deep and fresh". Among those present at the meeting were former Prime Minister of Pakistan Controlled Kashmir, Abdul Qayyum Khan and Pakistan-based senior Hurriyat leaders.

November 20, 2000: A member of the All Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC),Abdul Ghani Lone, currently in Pakistan, said that the 'Mujahideen' outfits should accept the offer because there are dangers in rejecting it. He pointed out that, "If they reject it, then India can use it to their advantage and tell the international community that the groups are not ready."

In Srinagar, former chairman of the All Party Hurriyat Conference, Mirwaiz Maulvi Omar Farooq, described the ceasefire as a "positive step" but said it was not a major step towards ending the crisis in Kashmir. A Hurriyat spokesman said that the group is to meet on November 21 and formulate its response to the cease-fire offer. However, another Hurriyat leader, Syed Ali Shah Gilani said that a temporary cease-fire was not a solution to the Kashmir issue.

November 19, 2000: All Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC) leader Abdul Gani Lone called for a 'united Kashmir'. This was announced in Rawalpindi. Lone also urged India and Pakistan to initiate a process of dialogue to immediately resolve the Kashmir issue.

November 15, 2000: Maulvi Farooqe, a member of the All Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC) and its former chief has reportedly met Pakistan's General Pervez Musharraf at Doha. The ex-Hurriyat chief had gone to Doha to attend the conference of the Organisation of Islamic Countries (OIC). A press release after the meeting said that the need for a resolution of the Kashmir dispute in accordance with the wishes of the people of Kashmir and for the restoration of normalisation of relations between India and Pakistan were discussed.

October 26, 2000: Most localities in the Kashmir valley region were reported to have observed the strike called by the All Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC). The strike was called by the Hurriyat on the 53rd anniversary of the entry of Indian Army forces into the valley on the request of the then ruler Maharaja Hari Singh.

October 20, 2000: A growing controversy involving a leader of the All Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC), Abdul Gani Lone and some terrorist outfits. Abdul Lone is also the Chairman of the Peoples' Conference, a politico-separatist outfit in Kashmir. The controversy began with a news report on October 19, citing Al-Barq's (a terrorist outfit) chief, Malik Bilal Rahi as accusing the Hurriyat leader of siphoning off funds meant for slain terrorists' families and hence, terminated the leader's 'patronage' over the terrorist outfit. He further accused the leader's son of usurping a huge arms cache of the outfit.

September 5, 2000: A senior leader of the All Party Hurriyat Conference and president of the People’s League, Sheikh Abdul Aziz, was released from jail. Sheikh Aziz was arrested on May 21, 1993 at Neloora in Pulwama, when he was heading a prominent militant organisation. He was released in 1999 for a brief period but was arrested again.

August 4, 2000: The Chairman of the All Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC), Prof Abdul Gani Bhat, said that the organisation would discuss the issue of disciplinary action against Fazal Haque Quereshi, the Hizb-ul Mujahideen's representative for dialogue with India's Union government. Bhat added that Fazal Qureshi, chief of the Peoples Political Front, a constituent of the Hurriyat Conference, accepted the Hizb nomination without consulting the Hurriyat.

July 28, 2000: The Chairman of the pro-secessionist All Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC) said in Srinagar that terrorists of other organisations and Indian security forces were still engaging one another and crticised the Hizb's unilateral decision for a cease-fire.

July 26, 2000: Intelligence sources have warned of a possible attack by Pakistan based terrorist groups that have opposed the cease-fire offer on Abdul Majid Dar, the Hizb-ul Mujahideen leader who had announced the cease-fire offer on July 24. The All Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC) has disagreed with the Hizb’s offer and termed it as "precipitous" and hasty. Simultaneously, the Hurriyat added in its official reaction that the solution to the Kashmir problem lay in "meaningful dialogue between respective parties to the dispute".

July 25, 2000: Hizb-ul Mujahideen has clarified that its unilateral cease-fire in Jammu and Kashmir came into effect from July 25. Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, Defence Minister George Fernandes and most political parties within J&K and outside the State, have, on July 25, broadly welcomed the Hizb-ul Mujahideen's offer. The All Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC) is yet to convey its official reaction.