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Kashmir separatist leader denied U.S. visa

MUMBAI, March 28 (UPI) -- The United States reportedly has denied a visa to India's hard-line Kashmir separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani, who has kidney cancer.

The Press Trust of India news agency reported Wednesday the 77-year-old Geelani had wanted to undergo laser therapy treatment in the United States but that his family was called to the U.S. Consulate in Mumbai and told the visa would not be issued.

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A U.S. Embassy representative said information in a visa application is confidential but confirmed the denial of visa to Geelani, saying, "Geelani has consistently failed to renounce violence as means of achieving his political goal in Kashmir."

The spokesman also said the United States "supports India and Pakistan's ongoing discussions on how to resolve important bilateral issues including the question of Kashmir."

Geelani underwent surgery Monday at a Mumbai hospital to remove the malignant tumor from his only active kidney, the report said. The other kidney was removed in 2003.

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