Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir Police on Wednesday
foiled an attempt by a Kashmiri separatist leader to organize
a seminar which was to be addressed by LeT founder and Mumbai
terror attack mastermind Hafeez Saeed and top leaders of
terror groups Jaish-e-Mohammed and Hizbul Mujahideen.
The police arrested separatist leader Mohammed Ahsan
Antoo who had allegedly announced that audio tapes of
Pakistan-based Saeed would be played at the seminar which
would also be addressed by Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood
Azhar and Hizbul head Syed Salahuddin over telephone.
The authorities picked up Antoo, who was released from
prison last year, from a hotel in the city and placed him
under detention.
Vice Chairman of breakaway JKLF Javed Ahmed Mir was also
arrested.
"They were detained in apprehension of breach of peace",
said IG (Kashmir) Farooq Ahmed.
Antoo was likely to be booked under the Public Safety
Act besides section 10 of Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act
under which any person propagating the separatist cause can be
detained, officials said.
Antoo was taken to an undisclosed location and was
questioned as to how he had managed to get the audio tape of
Saeed, a wanted terrorist in connection with the Mumbai terror
attacks of 2008.
Though he has been denying any knowledge of the tape,
police searched his residence and other places to find the
audio cassette.
Separatist leaders including Mirwaiz Umer Farooq and
Syed Ali Shah Geelani, who were to be present the seminar,
managed to excuse themselves from it.
Antoo said "we have invited pro-freedom leaders also and
leaders from both sections of Hurriyat. We had invited human
rights activists and pro-freedom leaders from our side of the
country also.
"But now, at the last moment when the conference is
about to start, police have pressurised the hotel owners that
the seminar should not be allowed to be organised and we are
also being arrested," he said.
PTI
