India frees Kashmir’s separatist leaders after brief detention

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SRINAGAR: Three pro-independence Kashmiri leaders freed hours after their detention by Indian authorities on Thursday.

Indian media reports say that Hurriyat leaders Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, Syed Ali Shah Geelani and Yasin Malik, who were invited to attend a reception on Sunday hosted by Pakistan High Commission for Pakistan’s National Security Advisor Sartaj Aziz, were detained at their houses.

The Kashmiri leaders however released after two hours of detention at their houses.

The meeting between the national security advisers of two countries hints at resumption of talks between Pakistan and India after a one year gap.

Pakistan’s Foreign Office has said that consulting Hurriyat leaders is a normal practice and that Kashmiri leaders always be taken into confidence by Pakistan prior to talks with New Delhi.