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Police detain Shabir Shah

Shah, along with six party activists, was detained by the police when he tried to take out a procession in Pulwama town of south Kashmir shortly after the Friday prayers, official sources said.

Prior to his detention, police fired warning shots, lobbed teargas shells and cane-charged the slogan-shouting processionists in the town, 27 km from Srinagar, in violation of prohibitory orders in force, sources said.

The police also lobbed teargas shells and used batons to disperse groups of agitated people who indulged in stone-pelting in protest against the killing of two youths allegedly in the custody of the special operations group of the local police at Harwan in Srinagar early Friday.

The deceased were identified as Niyaz Ahmad Shah, section commander of the Hizbul Mujahideen and Mohammad Ismail Kawloo district commander Hizbul Mujahideen.

Meanwhile, Hakeem Abdul Rashid, who had refused to be a part of a three-member team nominated by Shah to hand over a letter to the Centre's interlocutor K C Pant earlier this month, Friday resigned from the party and joined the Jammu and Kashmir Muslim League, a constituent of the Hurriyat Conference.

Rashid, JKDFP publicity secretary, told reporters that he had "revolted" against Shah on the call of his conscience, following the latter's "inclination" to enter into bilateral talks with New Delhi on the Kashmir issue.

He had refused to go to Delhi to hand over Shah's letter to Pant, saying the decision had no mandate from the party's working committee.

"No decision was taken at the meeting to depute a team to New Delhi for handing over the letter to Pant, as it amounts to entering into bilateral talks with New Delhi," Rashid said, adding that he refused to be part of the team for the same reason.

He said the letter could have been sent to Pant by post or courier, as was decided at the apex body's meeting. "Had Union Home Minister L K Advani or Union Defence Minister Jaswant Singh extended the invitation for talks, the response would have been different," he said.

PTI

The Kashmir Cease-Fire: The Complete Coverage

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