You have to love the understated verbiage. By the way, is there a grassy knoll here, or are we sticking with the Lone Gunman theory?
Kashmir Separatist Leader Killed
By Associated Press
May 21, 2002, 9:57 AM EDTSRINAGAR, India -- A leader of a Muslim separatist group in Kashmir was shot to death along with his bodyguard during a memorial rally Tuesday, as India's prime minister was headed to the Himalayan province at a time of rising tensions with Pakistan.
Abdul Ghani Lone, who in April had been attacked in a hospital by a Hindu nationalist, was shot dead in a cemetery at a memorial gathering commemorating the 12th anniversary of the assassination of a Kashmiri independence leader.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility.
Lone was one of the leaders of the All Party Hurriyat Conference, a group political and religious parties that advocate Muslim-majority Kashmir's separation from predominantly Hindu India.
In December, he asked militants in the troubled state to give a positive response to Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's declaration of a unilateral cease-fire.
On Tuesday, he was sitting on a platform in front of a crowd of 5,000 people, when three masked men approached and he was shot, said independent Aaj Tak television, whose reporter was present.
One of the men rolled a grenade into the crowd, but it did not explode, said the TV report.
Lone and two bodyguards were rushed to a hospital. Lone and one of the guards died, said Nisar Ahmad, one of Lone's relatives, who had gathered at his home. The other guard was being treated for injuries.
Lone's body was to be brought to his home, his relatives said, and a large, angry crowd had gathered there.
There are factions among the Islamic groups that favor Kashmir's separation from India, and some of them are militants.
Lone was assaulted on April 1 by a Hindu nationalist during a news conference. Lone did not press charges against the man, who hit him and tore his clothes. The man was a member of the Shiv Sena party, a member of Vajpayee's coalition.
The prime minister was due to arrive in India's northern Jammu-Kashmir state on Tuesday to meet with military commanders, whose troops have been on a war alert along the Pakistan frontier since December.
Vajpayee had also hoped to meet with some separatist leaders to encourage them to participate in state elections in September. He had not planned to meet any of the members of the All Party Hurriyat Conference, the state's biggest separatist group.
On Monday, Lone had given a lecture organized by Hurriyat, saying he was "not averse to talking with India or anyone else, and Kashmir, like any mature political struggle, should be innovative in its strategy."