Srinagar, April 18: A group of top separatists today decided to get in touch with the government to ascertain the veracity of an official probe into the murder of Jamiat-e-Ahlihadees chief Maulvi Showkat Ahmad Shah.

The government last week held jailed separatist leader Ashiq Hussain Fakhtoo and other militants responsible for Shah’s murder. This is the first time separatists are willing to debate the official findings — without straightaway rejecting them — into the death of a separatist leader.

An all-party meeting of separatists was convened today to discuss the official findings. A decision was taken to form a 10-member group to conduct parallel investigations.

“We have not rejected the government probe. We will contact the state government to satisfy ourselves and address the concerns of the people about the probe conducted by them into the killing of our leader,” Ghulam Rasool Malik, the officiating chief of the Jamiat, said.

The 10-member team includes Hurriyat hawk Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Mirwaiz Umer Farooq and Mohammad Yasin Malik. The team will also approach the United Jihad Council, an umbrella group of militant outfits based in PoK, over the investigations.