The head of Indian Kashmir's main opposition party, Omar Abdullah, survived an assassination bid yesterday for the second time in a month when rebels exploded a bomb a few steps away from him, police said. Seven people were injured in the blast in the insurgency-racked Himalayan region, two critically, police said. Abdullah leads the pro-India National Conference party and earlier served as India's junior foreign minister. "It was a narrow miss for Omar Abdullah," a police officer said. Abdullah had just emerged from his car when there was a deafening explosion, sending people fleeing for cover, said Nazir Ahmed who witnessed the blast. "He was only a few metres away from the site of explosion," he said. The security personnel fired into the air to scare away the militants. The bomb was detonated as Abdullah arrived to attend a prayer ceremony for former National Conference minister Safdar Ali Baig, gunned down by militants last Thursday. Abdullah's bodyguards whisked him from the scene of the attack in Anantnag, 50km south of the capital Srinagar. "This is a colossal security lapse," a shaken Abdullah said. "The government is playing with my security," he said, demanding a probe into the attack by federal Indian security agencies. Abdullah's father, former National Conference Party chief Farooq Abdullah, was in the same area when the explosion took place. Earlier this month, rebels opened fire on Omar Abdullah's motorcade but there were no casualties. Police said militants may have used a new kind of remote-controlled explosive device that escaped electronic jammers installed aboard the leader's car. No militant outfit has claimed responsibility for the attack. Pakistan said the time was ripe for progress in Kashmir, and it hoped for quick agreement on starting a bus link between the two halves of the disputed territory. Foreign Minister Khursheed Mehmood Kasuri said the planned bus route, between Indian-held and Pakistan-controlled areas of the region, was a crucial step in efforts to resolve the conflict between the two states. "The time has now come when the leadership should be prepared to go forward with this and it would be a great pity if this opportunity were missed." **PHOTO CAPTION*** Omar Abdullah, chief of National Conference, Kashmir's main opposition party, flanked by security guards speaks on a cell phone at his party headquarters, in Srinagar, October 24, 2004. (REUTERS)