The condition of senior separatist Hurriyat leader Fazal Haq Qureshi, who was shot at by militants of Al-Nasreen outfit outside a mosque in Srinagar, continues to be critical on Saturday.
Doctors attending on him at the Soura Medical Institute here said Qureshi's condition was critical as he has suffered significant brain damage.
Qureshi, who heads the Peoples Political Front, was fired from point blank range by militants around 6.30 PM while he was returning home after offering evening prayers on Friday.
The 65-year-old moderate face of the separatist outfit was known for his simple ways and travelled in a bus refusing police security.
Al-Nasreen militant outfit, believed to be a front of Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba, has claimed responsibility for the attack, saying he was playing a key role in the talks with the Centre.
Qureshi was behind the first-ever peace talks between terrorist group Hizbul Mujahideen and the Central government in 2000. The militant group was led by Abdul Majid Dar.
Although the talks failed to make any headway, he engaged in talks with the then Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani again but pulled out of the second round in protest against alleged human rights violations in the state.
Qureshi, who rose from a humble beginning to be the most trusted aide of Mirwaiz Farooq and a prominent face of Hurriyat's moderate faction, was instrumental in intiating many truce attempts in the past which, however, failed.
He was the member of Plebiscite Front but later launched his own political party by the name of People's Political Front and was elevated to the Executive Committee of the Hurriyat following a split in 2003.
Terming the attack as "cowardly", Home Minister P Chidambaram said in Delhi the Centre was committed to finding a solution to the Kashmir issue through quiet talks with every shade of political opinion in the state.
Chidambaram said he was deeply distressed by the attack. Lambasting those behind the attack, he said, "These are the elements which, in the past, have pushed Jammu and Kashmir to the brink of a crisis. It is also clear that these elements act at the behest of forces that are inimical to India".
He said the attack was a cowardly attempt by those who do not wish that the problems of Jammu and Kashmir are resolved through talks.
The Home Minister said the correct response at this hour was not to te cowed down by these violent acts or allow fear to interrupt the process of quiet talks and diplomacy.
"I assure the people of Jammu and Kashmir that we remain committed to finding a solution through quiet talks with every shade of political opinion in Jammu and Kashmir," he said.
"My prayers as well as those of all peace loving people are with him (Qureshi) and his family, and we sincerely hope that he will recover," the Home Minister said.
Chidambaram said he was happy to read the statements of Hurriyat leader Mirwaiz Umer Farooq and others who have vowed to continue their efforts to find a peaceful solution to the Kashmir issue through talks with the Centre.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said in Srinagar that talks between the Centre and the Hurriyat Conference will continue despite attack on Qureshi. "Talks will continue despite all these impediments and road blocks," Omar told reporters on the sidelines of a function. He lauded Hurriyat Conference Chairman Mirwaiz Umer Farooq's statement that his amalgam would not be cowed down by the attack on Qureshi and would pursue the line of dialogue with both India and Pakistan to resolve the Kashmir issue. "I congratulate Mirwaiz for his statement that talks will continue", he said.
Omar said the state government had no prior information about the attack but the separatists had been provided security as per threat perception.
Though Qureshi was offered security at many occasions he declined, the chief minister said, adding the condition of qureshi was "stable".
Omar said the attack was carried out by elements who do not want peace to return to the state. "This is the work of enemies of peace". When asked that a militant outfit has owned resonsibility for the attack, the chief minister said "things will unfold in the due course of investigations". PTI
