By
IOL South Asia Correspondent
NEW
DELHI, May 23 (IslamOnline) - Senior Kashmiri leader Abdul Ghani Lone,
assassinated Monday, May 21, was buried Tuesday, May 22, in the
Martyrs’ Cemetery in Srinagar in the presence of at least 50,000
mourners. An estimated 5,000-strong crowd walked the 12 kilometer
route from his house to the graveyard.
The
slain leader's son, Sajjad Lone has blamed Jammu and Kashmir Chief
Minister Farooq Abdullah for his father's assassination, saying that
he reduced the security of the Hurriyat leader despite a clear threat
to his life. "He died in the convergence between state actors and
non-state actors," accused Sajjad. Farooq Abdullah has, however,
ridiculed the charges.
The
APHC, on the other hand, said the assassination of its leader Abdul
Gani Lone was a "deep conspiracy" aimed at scuttling a
"saner voice" of the Kashmiri people and its leadership.
APHC spokesman Abdul Majid Bandey said the incident would have a
"far-reaching impact on the political scenario of Jammu and
Kashmir."
Stating
that Lone's outspokenness had earned him several enemies, Banday said:
"It is a deep conspiracy against the people of Kashmir and their
movement.”
Bandey
alleged that adequate security had not been provided Lone even though
there had been several attacks on his life during the last two years.
"It is not for the first time that Lone was attacked. There have
been several attempts on his life. But this time the enemy succeeded
and he has become a martyr," he said.
Abdul
Ghani Lone was one of the "moderate" leaders of the party
and is said to have had strong differences with the pro-Pakistan
hardliners who were against elections in the Valley. Earlier in 1996,
there was a car bomb attack. This year his residence was also attacked
twice but he escaped.
Curfew
was clamped this morning on Handwara, home town of Abdul Gani Lone.
Officials said that precautionary curfew has been imposed on the
entire town following tension after Lone's death. Residents of the
area said they were not being allowed to leave their houses.
Police
had to fire several rounds into the air after a group of people pelted
stones on Bulgam police post in Baramulla last night after the news
about the death of Lone reached there.
The
APHC today demanded a judicial probe into the killing of its senior
leader and asked for security for the slain leader's family members. A
resolution passed at an emergency meeting of Hurriyat executive in
Srinagar said Lone's death was a tragedy for the 23-party amalgam of
secessionist organizations and the people of Kashmir. His death
created a vacuum that would be difficult to fill, the resolution said.
The
resolution praised Lone, who was shot dead by two unidentified gunmen
at public meeting Monday, for his courage in raising the voice of the
people of Kashmir at various forums. It said Lone served and
represented the people throughout his political career.
Meanwhile,
Congress leader Sonia Gandhi had strong words Tuesday for the
government's Kashmir policy.
She
told journalists that Lone's death must provoke the government into
doing more in its attempts to engage Kashmiri separatists in a
dialogue. Gandhi said her impression was that the government had not
done enough to push the dialogue process in Kashmir forward.
