From correspondents in Jammu and Kashmir, India, 10:03 PM IST

Senior separatist Hurriyat Conference leader Fazal Haque Qureshi was shot at and critically injured by unidentified men in this Jammu and Kashmir capital Friday evening, police said.

Qureshi, one of the important leaders of Mirwaiz Umer Farooq-led moderate Hurriyat faction, was shot from a close range by four men near his house in Soura locality as he was leaving to a mosque for evening prayers.

Doctors at the Sher-e-Kashmir Soura Medical Institute (SKIMS) said Qureshi had suffered critical bullet injuries in his head and his condition was very critical.

A team of doctors are operating on him to save his life, sources said.

The murderous attack on Qureshi is seen as an attempt to derail the 'quiet dialogue' reportedly going on between the union government and the Kashmiri separatist leaders.

'The attack on Qureshi is an attempt to derail the peace process,' Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said.

The chief minister, however, hoped the attack would strengthen the people's resolve in Kashmir to pursue peace more actively.

Opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) leader Muzaffar Hussain Baig said: 'Someone is trying to derail the peace process.'

One of the most respected separatist leaders, Qureshi had mediated between the then union home secretary Kamal Pande and four senior commanders of the banned Hizbul Mujahideen, who had held talks with the Indian government Aug 3, 2000.

Qureshi, it is believed, was one of the most vocal supporters of the dialogue process.

'He was a staunch supporter of negotiated resolution of the Kashmir dispute through dialogue and deliberations,' a separatist leader in the Mirwaiz group said on the condition of anonymity.

Hardline senior separatist leader Syed Ali Geelani has opposed the 'quiet dialogue' between the separatists and the central government.

(Staff Writer, © IANS)