New Delhi: Close on the heels of the second round of talks with Hurriyat Conference, the Government has decided to release 16 Jammu and Kashmir detenues who are not involved in heinous crimes.

A decision to this effect was taken at a meeting of the Joint Screening Committee of the State and the Centre in Jammu last evening (April 15, 2004), official sources said.

The list includes some second-rung leaders of Hurriyat Conference who had been detained under Public Safety Act, the sources said.

The release of some of the close associates of Hurriyat which included Shabir Dar and Ghulam Mohammed Sheikh was not cleared as they were booked under POTA (Prevention of Terrorism Act) and their trial was on in designated courts.