Wednesday, September 7 2005 13:55 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: A Hurriyat Conference team led by its Chairman Mirwaiz Umer Farooq today (Sept 7, 2005) met United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Chairperson and Congress President Sonia Gandhi, who assured them that the peace process in the state would continue.

The three-member Hurriyat delegation, which comprised Abdul Gani Bhat and Bilal Lone, entered 10-Janpath residence of Gandhi through a separate gate and also made its exit avoiding the media present there.

During the meeting, which lasted 25-minutes, Gandhi asked them to work in for bringing relief to the common man in the valley and also assured them that the UPA Government was committed to ensuring peace and development in the state, Hurriyat sources said here.

A five-member Hurriyat team had come here for talks with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday while one of its members Maulana Abbas Ansari had already left for Srinagar, another Fazal-ul-haq Qureshi arrived late at the venue for the meeting with Gandhi.

The Hurriyat delegation drove straight to Pakistan High Commission from there where they were to meet the senior diplomats including its High Commission Aziz Ahmed Khan.

This is for the first time that Huriyat leaders have visited Pakistani High Commission after holding talks with the Centre. The amalgam leaders had not visited the High Commission after their meetings with previous government in January and March last year.