Srinagar: Heeding the call of unity, 24 separatist leaders today (Nov 19) turned up at a meeting convened by former Hurriyat Chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq to arrive at a broader consensus before taking a final decision on the Centre's offer for talks even as some of the invitees including Syed Ali Shah Geelani and Mohammad Yaseen Malik stayed away.

So far, 24 parties have been represented in the meeting which began shortly past noon. Almost all senior separatist leaders are part of the quorum, which is an encouraging development, Awami Action Committee (AAC) spokesman Shahidul Islam said ahead of the closed-door meeting.

Islam said Mirwaiz had called the meeting in his capacity as a religious leader and not as the Hurriyat executive member.

"It is his (Mirwaiz) endeavour to see the separatist camp as one unit as he was the Hurriyat founder chairman," he added.

He said Jamaat-e-Islami chief Syed Nazir Kashani and Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) chairman Mohammad Yaseen Malik could not attend the meeting due to personal reasons.

Kashani has met an unfortunate accident and JKLF is busy with the death anniversary of their leader Shiekh Hamid, Islam said, adding Geelani also did not turn up for the meeting.

Notable among those present at the meeting include Maulana Mohammad Abbas Ansari, Abdul Gani Bhat, Bilal Gani Lone, Shabbir Ahmad Shah and Fazl Haq Qureshi.

PTI