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J&K separatist leader takes govt to NHRC

A Kashmiri separatist leader who was allegedly denied permission by the Centre for attending a United Nations human rights conference in Geneva, today criticised the government for granting permission too late.

Ghulam Nabi Shaheen, general secretary of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court Bar Association, heading a two-member delegation, was to attend the UN sub-commission on human rights in Geneva from August 3 to August 28. He was, however, allegedly denied permission to leave by immigration authorities at the airport when he was about to board the flight to Geneva.

Shaheen, whose views on Kashmir is opposed to India's official stand and favours the Pakistani viewpoint, had also approached the National Human Rights Commission, describing the government's decision as ''undemocratic, unlawful, unwarranted and condemnable.''

Shaheen said he had come to know about the government's ''belated decision'' only through newspaper reports but that nothing had been communicated to him officially. He said they would nevertheless, consider attending the conference once they received some official communication.

In a statement, Shaheen described the government decision as ''farcical and misleading'', aimed at ''hoodwinking'' the public opinion and to circumvent diplomatic pressures.

He said the government decision was never communicated to the delegation officially and it was given when all the relevant topics about Kashmir and related issues which were to be discussed at Geneva, had already been deliberated upon.

He refuted the government stand that the delegation consisted of members of the banned All-Party Hurriyat Conference and said that, on the contrary, it was a human rights delegation from Kashmir whose visit to Geneva was sponsored by a Los Angeles based non-governmental organisation.

Jammu and Kashmir has a separate human rights commission that probes into various allegations of human rights violations in the state.

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