Kashmir alliance gives cautious welcome to ceasefire

Kashmir alliance gives cautious welcome to ceasefire
REUTERS

Srinagar, Nov 21: Kashmir's leading separatist alliance gave a cautious welcome on Tuesday to India's unilateral ceasefire offer in the troubled Himalayan region, saying it was a positive change in Indian thinking.

"If the Indian Prime minister's announcement of a ceasefireis a serious and sincere step towards resolution of the Kashmir problem, it reflects a positive change in the thinking of the Indian rulers," an All Parties Hurriyat (Freedom) Conference (APHC) statement said.

But the statement, which came after a day-long meeting ofthe APHC executive to discuss the ceasefire offer, said Hurriyat should be allowed to hold talks with India, Pakistan and militant leaders to help bring peace back to the region.

Hurriyat bands 22 political, social and religious groupsfighting politically for implementation of a 1948 U.N. resolution which calls for a plebiscite to determine the future of the troubled region.

India announced on Sunday that it had ordered its forces inKashmir to suspend their offensive against separatist militants during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.

CALL FOR "LASTING SETTLEMENT"

About a dozen militant groups are fighting India's rule ofJammu and Kashmir, the country's only Muslim-majority state.

Most of the militant groups, which are based in Pakistan,rejected the temporary ceasefire, dubbing it "eyewash" and vowing to press on with their struggle against Indian rule.

"The Hurriyat says restoration of peace is not possibleunless all efforts are made for a lasting and final settlement of the problem," the statement said.

"Hurriyat demands its leaders be allowed to hold talks withIndia, Pakistan and leadership of the militant groups for peaceful settlement of the Kashmir problem," it added.

The Indian government has been talking behind the sceneswith leaders of Hurriyat since early this year to begin negotiations on the future of Kashmir, but the two sides have so far failed to find a common starting point.

Officials say separatist violence has mounted in therestive Himalayan state this year particularly since a frontline militant group, Hizb-ul-Mujahideen, ended a brief ceasefire in August.

India, which controls 45 percent of Kashmir region, accusesPakistan of arming and training Kashmiri separatists, a charge Islamabad denies.

Pakistan says that it provides only moral and diplomaticsupport to the rebels, whose decade-old struggle has claimed more than 30,000 lives.

Pakistan rules over a third of Kashmir and China the rest.