India refuses to let Kashmiri rebel leader visit Pakistan

The refusal to grant Syed Ali Geelani a passport comes as India and Pakistan are engaged in a slow-moving peace process to settle their dispute over Kashmir that each holds in part but claims in full.

"I was willing to attend the meeting but I have been refused a passport by India," said Geelani, who heads the hardline faction of Indian Kashmir's separatist alliance, the All Parties Hurriyat Conference.

There was no immediate comment available from the passport office in Srinagar, summer capital of Indian Kashmir where a revolt against New Delhi's rule has raged since 1989 and has claimed over 44,000 lives.