Mufti escapes assassination bid

<div class="section1"><div class="Normal">SRINAGAR: Militants fired two rifle grenades in South Kashmir’s Anantnag district, minutes before Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed was to file his nomination papers for state assembly by-polls.<br /><br />Even as Mufti was unhurt, five civilians were injured in Wednesday’s attack. The attack came two days ahead of peace talks between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf in New York.<br /><br />Inspector General of Police, Kashmir, K Rajindera told <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Times of India</span> that militants fired two rifle grenades in succession near the office of the District Superintendent of Police, 55 km from Srinagar around 12.45 pm.The district SP is very close to the DC office where Mufti was to file his nomination papers.<br /><br />The area is a high security zone with sector headquarters and government colony nearby. Five civilians were injured, three of them critically, in the attack. They have been shifted to Srinagar. Said Rajindera, "The grenades were aimed at the police and not the chief minister." However Pro-Pakistan militant outfit Jamit-ul-Mujahideen owned the responsibility of "the attack on Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed.<br /><br />The entire area was cordoned off by the security forces following chaos and panic in the area. Unruffled by the attack, Mufti filed his nomination papers for Pahalgam assembly seat. He addressed a gathering of around 3000 people and asked them to pray for success of talks between Manmohan Singh and Pervez Musharraf.<br /><br /></div> </div><div class="section2"><div class="Normal"><br />Pahalgam goes to the polls on October 13 along with three other constituencies - Batmaloo, Basolhi and Akhnoor.<br /><br />Mufti is contesting from Pahalgam after the by-polls were necessitated because of the election of its legislator Mehooba Mufti to the Parliament. He chose to contest the elections, since a year later, he will have to step down from the Chief Ministers seat as per an agreement between PDP and Congress. The allies have promised to give rotational power to each other. And if Mufti leaves the seat for any of his Congress colleagues, it would be an odd situation to return to his mere position of being nominated member to legislative council, upper house of state assembly.<br /><br />Pahalgam constituency falls in South Kashmir, which has emerged as strong bastion of PDP ever since assembly polls 2002. National Conference, its main rival in Kashmir, was completely routed from South Kashmir.<br /><br />As against NCs defeated MLA Rafi Mir, PDP feels that it would be an easy win for Mufti.<br /><br />However, Mufti’s experience with contesting state assembly elections has been bad. He has always been loser in the state assembly elections. This election is going to be the litmus test for Mufti and his government. If he loses, it would be a sort of no confidence motion against his government.</div> </div>