Thursday, June 2 2005 09:37 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Srinagar: Hurriyat Conference today (Jun 2, 2005) sought to downplay the refusal of travel documents to separatist leader Shabir Ahmed Shah and said it will not "weaken" their "mission" to Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK).

"We don't think in terms of weakening the delegation by non-issuance of travel documents to some people. We don't talk in numbers we talk ideas," former Hurriyat Chairman Abdul Gani Bhatt, who is travelling to PoK, told reporters in Srinagar.

Bhatt said the separatist leaders were undertaking the journey carrying a message of peace and love to the other side. "The objective of our mission is to strengthen the Indo-Pak peace process and Hurriyat Conference can become a bridge between the two countries."

Shah's Jammu and Kashmir Democratic Freedom Party will be represented by senior leader Mohammed Abdullah Tari in the delegation travelling to PoK.

Authorities had yesterday (Jun 1, 2005) refused travel documents to the separatist leader, raising objection to his mentioning 'Kashmiri' as his nationality instead of 'Indian' in the entry permit form for the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad bus.