Geelani,Mirwaiz in Jamiat panel to probe clerics killing

The decision to launch a parallel probe was taken at a marathon all-party meet convened by the Jamiat after the police blamed leaders of the Jamiats rival faction Sout-ul-Haq and jailed separatist leader Mohammad Qasim for the killing.

After hectic deliberations,a unanimous consensus was evolved to launch an all-party probe panel comprising 10 members, acting president of Jamiat Ahl-e-Hadees G R Malik told reporters at the Jamiat headquarters in Srinagar after the meeting. I will be heading the probe panel, he said.

Prominent members include Hurriyat hardliner Syed Ali Shah Geelani,moderate Hurriyat chairman Mirwaiz Umer Farooq and chairman of the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front Yasin Malik.

The other members include Jamat-e-Islami chief Sheikh Ghulam Hassan,moderate Hurriyat leaders Moulana Abass Ansari and Aga Hassan Budgami,Jamiat general secretary Abdul Rashid Bhat,Showkat Ahmad Keng and a representative of the Bar Association.

On Saturday,the police claimed to have arrested three men for the April 8 assassination of the Jamiat Ahl-e-Hadees chief. The police blamed the conspiracy on elements in the Lashkar-e-Toiba,the Pakistan-based secretary general of the United Jihad Council and Ashiq Hussain Faktoo alias Dr Mohammad Qasim,who is serving a life term. Faktoo is the husband of Dukhtaran-e-Millat chief Asiya Andrabi.

The Muslim League denied the involvement of Dr Mohammad Qasim in the assassination. It said blaming him is a conspiracy of intelligence agencies.