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JKLF leader's heart bleeds for the needy

Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front senior leader Shabir Shah has displayed a hitherto unseen benevolent side which bleeds for orphans, widows and the needy.

Addressing the media, the separatist leader announced a donation of Rs 10 million in cash and kind to set up a trust for the needy in the Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh regions. He nominated eight members as trustees.

Shah said he would not associate himself in any way with the trust and its members would be at liberty to utilise the funds for the welfare of the people. They could also dispose of the property, which included bungalows and land, and amounted to around Rs 6 million. The remaining Rs 4 million was in cash.

The money had come by way of donations from within the country and abroad.

The separatist leader appealed to those who had received donations on his behalf to come forward and offer it for a respectable cause. After all, though the money was given to him, it belonged to the Jammu and Kashmir people, he reasoned.

Shah also hoped that Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee would play a positive role in resolving the Kashmir issue.

However, the 'gun' would continue to be part of 'the struggle', he said, in a reversion to the militant stance.

UNI

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