Chidambaram condemns attack on Hurriyat leader

New Delhi, Dec 5 (PTI) Terming as "cowardly" the
attack on Fazal Haq Qureshi, leader of separatist party
Hurriyat in India's northern state of Jammu and Kashmir,
Indian Home Minister P Chidambaram Saturday said the Indian
government was committed to finding a solution to the Kashmir
issue through quiet talks with every shade of political
opinion in the state.
Chidambaram said he was deeply distressed by the
attack on Qureshi, who is now battling for his life in a
hospital in Srinagar. The Hurriyat leader was seriously
injured in an attack by militants Friday.
Lambasting those behind the attack, he said in a
statement here that, "These are the elements which, in the
past, have pushed Jammu and Kashmir to the brink of a crisis.
It is also clear that these elements act at the behest of
forces that are inimical to India".
He said the attack was a cowardly attempt by those who
do not wish that the problems of Jammu and Kashmir are
resolved through talks.
The Home Minister said the correct response at this
hour was not to te cowed down by these violent acts or allow
fear to interrupt the process of quiet talks and diplomacy.
"I assure the people of Jammu and Kashmir that we
remain committed to finding a solution through quiet talks
with every shade of political opinion in Jammu and Kashmir,"
he said. MORE PTI