Srinagar: In a pre dawn swoop, police on February 26 arrested senior separatist Hurriyat Conference leaders Javed Ahmad Mir and Khalil Mohammad Khalil, who had planned to protest holding of bypoll to Pampore Assembly constituency in Jammu and Kashmir.

Mir, vice-president of Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF), and Khalil of the Peoples League were among seven Hurriyat activists picked up in raids conducted in different parts of the city, official sources said.

Byelection in the constituency being held on February 26 has been necessitated following the killing of People's Democratic Party (PDP) Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) Abdul Aziz Mir in December.

PTI