Militants attacked the heavily-guarded residence of All Parties Hurriyat Conference chairman Mirwaiz Moulvi Omar Farooq in Srinagar on Monday with a rifle grenade.

Police said the grenade exploded in the backyard of Mirwaiz Omar's posh Nageen locality residence in summer capital Srinagar. However, there was no damage even though the police guards at the residence of Mirwaiz fired several rounds following the explosion.

"The grenade exploded in the backyard of the house. No one was injured in the explosion," a senior police officer said in Srinagar.

The Mirwaiz is away in state's winter capital Jammu, where he held a press conference later in the day. Commenting on the grenade attack, the Mirwaiz said, "I would not be cowed down by such attacks. Those days, when people
could be cowed down by frightening means are over."
 
He said the attack was the 'handiwork of forces who were opposed to peace in Kashmir.'

The area was cordoned off after the attack and search operation were being carried out. No arrests have been made so far.

Mirwaiz Omar Farooq, the head of an APHC delegation, met leaders of the minority Pundit community in Jammu. The APHC delegation is scheduled to visit Pakistan later this week for talks with Pakistani leadership. It must be recalled that Omar's father late Mirwaiz Mohammad Farooq was killed by unknown assailants inside the Nageen residence in 1990, at the beginning of militancy in Kashmir.