Home Sec leaves to Srinagar for round table

New Delhi, May 23: Union Home Secretary V K Duggal today left for Srinagar for a general security review in view of recent terrorist attacks and tomorrow's crucial round table that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh would hold with leaders of various parties to resolve the Kashmir issue.

Mr Duggal is accompanied by CRPF Director General J K Sinha. The Centre is trying to make foolproof security arrangements for the two-day visit of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Home Minister Shivraj Patil for the round table.

This is the second round table being held on the Kashmir issue and the first to take place in the state. The first round table was held in the national capital on February 25 this year.

The two-day meeting, to be chaired by Dr Singh from tomorrow, is aimed at widening the dialogue process in Kashmir, where thousands of people have been killed in insurgency-related incidents in the past over a decade.

The talks are being held against a backdrop of a militant attack on a Congress rally on Sunday in which eight people were killed and about 20 injured. Two fidayeen were killed by security forces in the firing.

Meanwhile, the All Parties Hurriyat Conference, an amalgam of two dozen political separatist groups, said it would not be a part of the ''crowd'' participating in the round table as it felt that it would not be able to give any permanent solution to the Kashmir issue.

On Saturday, militants had issued a threat to disrupt the conference and asked political separatists to stay away from the meeting.

However, undeterred by the militants threat and fidayeen attacks the Centre has decided to go ahead with the talks. It said the fidayeen attack indicated the frustration of militants in Jammu and Kashmir and their terror tactics would not derail the peace process in the state.

UNI

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