In recent months the government-sponsored hit-squads have widened their scope to include intellectuals, and assassination attempts on lives of the leaders of the All-Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) and other activists continue to rise.

Veteran Kashmiri leader, Syed Ali Gilani, along with his family and security staff, have narrowly escaped a series of assassination attempts. On April 11th, 1996, Mr. Gilani's residence was attacked by the Indian army at 9.30 p.m. It was the eight attack in less than six months. At approximately 10.25 p.m. on Friday, May 17th, a hand grenade was hurled at his Hyderpora (Srinagar) residence, this has been the tenth attack in-a-row and the second-one in less than 24-hours. On Thursday, May 16th, at about 11.30 p.m. a missile was fired on his residence in Srinagar. In yet another attack, Mr. Gilani's residence was bombed with mortars on June 7th, 1996. The J & K Police guarding the premises returned fire, which continued for about half-an-hour. The attackers came again after an hour and resorted to heavy fire-power with machine guns, however, no one was injured. Mr. Gilani blamed the Indian army and their agents for the deliberate attacks.

Speaking with reporters outside his bombed-out-residence, Mr. Gilani, leader of the Jamaat-e-Islami and also a prominent figure in the APHC, said that "the attacks describe the mood of the government in New Delhi." He further said, "such tactics will backfire against India and it will not discourage the struggle of the people of Kashmir from achieving their freedom."

The attack on the house of Mr. Abdul Gani Lone, President of the People Conference, and leader of the APHC, on April 11th, at 11.30 p.m. damaged the house and shattered the window panes of nearby houses. In another attack, June 7th, eyewitnesses at Mr. Lone's residence said that they saw three uniformed army men suspiciously moving near the outer wall of the premises at about 11.45 p.m., an army truck was waiting for them nearby. After boarding the truck they fired a shot in the air, ostensibly a signal to activate the remote. Later, there was deafening noise and fire, smoke and dust were seen leaping into the air. This was the sixth attempt on the life of Mr. Lone.

On April 9th, Shabir Ahmed Shah, President of the People's League and leader of the APHC, turned up to give an address at a seminar organised by the People Resistance Forum (PRF) in New Delhi. He was attacked by a group of armed Hindu fanatics belonging to Akhal Bharatiya Vidyarati Parishad (ABVP) a student wing of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The organisers surrounded Mr. Shah to prevent a physical assault on him, and as a result several of them sustained serious injuries. The PRF strongly condemned the incident and blamed the police for their inaction to prevent a riot or to detain the attackers.

When on May 9th, all the leaders and a few activists of the APHC were on a trip to Bomia, Sopore, they were greeted with a hail of bullets, showered upon them by a renegade group working under the auspices of the Indian army. Mr. Abdul Ahad Waza was critically injured. However, Mr. Gilani, Mr. Lone, Mr. Shah, Mr. Malik, and Prof. Bhat miraculously escaped unhurt.

There was a rocket attack at the APHC headquarters in Rajbagh, Srinagar, on Monday, May 13th, at 11 p.m. -- half an hour prior to the attack on Mr. Gilani's house, the same day. The blast severely damaged the water supply system, an inner wall of the building, pierced the outer walls and shattered windows in buildings nearby. Police found another bomb in the building. It was planted under the staircase and was later defused. Also, in recent months, there have been repeated attempts on the lives of other leaders of the APHC, i.e., Yasin Malik, Molvi Abbas Ansari and Prof. Abdul Gani Bhat.

Two masked renegades (members of Indian auxiliary forces), shot and critically wounded Dr. Yusuf Omar on Wednesday, April 17th, 1996, at 3.10 p.m. He was in the office of the Rufaidah Blood Bank, Srinagar, at the time of the attack. Dr. Omar, 55, is a professor and head of the electrical engineering department of the Regional Engineering College, Srinagar. The incident took place when he was in a board meeting at the Rufaidah Blood Bank of Kashmir, two masked person forced entry into the room asking Dr. Omar to accompany them. His inquires angered the men and they tried to forcibly lift him from the office, however, failing to do so they opened fire. The first shot hit his arm and another bullet penetrated his stomach. Hearing the shots, Dr. Omar's staff rushed in and the armed men fled.

Dr. Omar was taken to the SMHC hospital in a critical condition. Injuries from the second shot were life-threatening. The bullet severed his intestines and other crucial organs. His condition was described as critical but stable. Dr. Omar, also Chairman of the Kashmir Public Relief Trust, has been supervising humanitarian and relief work since the 1990's popular uprising against Indian occupation of Kashmir.

The Rashtriya Rifles (RR) shot and killed Prof. Bashir Ahmed Mattoo on Wednesday, May 15th 1996, at 10.30 a.m., while he was about to get on a bus near his house in Soura, Srinagar. The eyewitness said that Indian army shot twice from behind while he was stepping onto the bus and the forces were seen fleeing from the scene. Prof. Mattoo was rushed to the hospital where he died. He was laid to rest in a cemetery at Malkh, Nowhatta. A large number of mourners attended the funeral despite a government ban on assembly of more than four persons. He was 48-years-old and a senior professor of physics at the S. P. College, Srinagar. Prof. Mattoo, a prominent educationist, social worker and founder member of Education Trust - Iqbal Memorial Trust, which runs a number of schools in Jammu and Kashmir. He was also a former secretary general of the Muslim Welfare Society. Prof. Mattoo has been running a "Brilliant Coaching Centre," in Srinagar, for the poor and gifted students aspiring for higher professions.

Meanwhile, Mr. Ghulam Hassan Mukhdoomi, 45, [son-in-law of the APHC leader Mr. Gilani] a technologist and director of the Harwan Medical Centre (a government primary health centre), was picked up by the RR personnel camping at Bomia, Sopore in collaboration with the government sponsored renegades at 5.00 p.m. on Monday, May 13th 1996. It is reported that Mr. Mukhdoomi has no political or militant background.

Mr. Mushtaq A. Jeelani, Executive Director of the Kashmiri-Canadian Council (KCC), expressed his anxiety and resentment over these cowardly incidents. He said that the KCC "condemns these blatant assassination attempts on the lives of APHC leadership and on Kashmiri intellectuals." He called it a "design of state terrorism which India has adopted to suppress the freedom movement in occupied Kashmir." Mr. Jeelani urged the international community, and more specifically, Ottawa to demand an end to the campaign of harassment that New Delhi has directed at the leadership of the APHC --- a leadership that is seeking peaceful tripartite negotiations to resolve the Kashmir dispute.