Ailing Geelani being taken to US for treatment

Sriangar, Mar 11: Ailing Syed Ali Shah Geelani, chairman of thebreakaway Hurriyat Conference (HC), will be taken to the UnitedStatesfor specialised treatment.

Mr Geelani, suffering from cancer, his wife and son were givenpassports by the Regional Passport Office (RPO), here, on thedirections from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, following appeals by theHurriyat Conference and a number of mainstream and separatist leaders.

Their passports were sent from here to Delhi yesterday, aspokesman of the HC Aiyaz Akbar told UNI. ''As today is a holiday onaccount of Sunday, we will apply for visa in the US embassy in NewDelhi tomorrow,'' he said.

He said the decision to take Mr Geelani to the US was taken after consulting almost everybody in Jammu and Kashmir and abroad.

He said a number of offers were made by different countries and individuals, but consensus was rached on he us.

The passports were issued to betrio after they submitted fresh applications in the RPO here last week.

Mr Geelani's passport was impounded by the authorities in 1981 andsince then his applications for issuing fresh passport or traveldocuments were denied. However, he was allowed to perform the Hajpilgrimage last year along with his wife.

Mr Akbar said a three-member Hurriyat Conference team was leaving forDelhi tomorrow to meet Mr Geelani. He said the HC chairman wanted tomeet the leaders before leaving. Former Pakistanicricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan had also offered to treat MrGeelani in the Showkat Khanam Memorial Cancer hospital, Lahore.

Dr Sameer Kaul of Apollo hospital in his report said Mr Geelanineeded urgent surgical attention for treatment of metastatic diseaserenal transplantation, for which he may travel to the US.

Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz have sent goodwill messages to ailing Geelani.

Advocate Shahidul Islam, press and personnel secretary of themoderate HC chairman Mirwaiz Moulvi Omar Farooq, has also offered todonate one of his kidneys to Mr Geelani.

UNI

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