Vajpayee ready for peace talks with Pakistan
Vajpayee ready for peace talks with Pakistan
NEW DELHI (AFP): Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee
said on Tuesday he was ready for talks with Pakistan on Kashmir,
as the state's top militant group urged separatist parties to
bury differences on the region's future.
"We are ready to talk to anyone for solving the Kashmir tangle
including with our neighbor provided the situation improves,"
Vajpayee told the upper house of the Indian parliament.
New Delhi accuses Islamabad of arming the Muslim insurgency in
Kashmir and has refused to begin a dialogue until the level of
violence subsides.
Three weeks ago, Indian security forces suspended counter-
insurgency operations against militant groups in Kashmir for the
Islamic holy month of Ramadhan, following a directive from
Vajpayee.
The prime minister said he had yet to take a decision on
extending the unilateral ceasefire.
Cautious moves are underway to find an acceptable framework
for talks between the Kashmir separatists, India and Pakistan on
the future of the divided state, administered in parts by the two
South Asian rivals.
Meanwhile, the Hizbul Mujahideen militant outfit asked
Kashmiri separatist leaders on Tuesday to avoid arguing over
whether to accede to Pakistan or go for full independence.
"Raising such issues will prove detrimental at this point of
time," Hizbul's spokesman in Kashmir, "Commander" Masood, told
AFP by telephone.
Masood's comments came after pro-Pakistan and pro-independence
supporters clashed Sunday outside the Srinagar headquarters of
Kashmir's main separatist alliance -- the All Party Hurriyat
Conference.
"Hizbul Mujahideen expresses its deep shock and dismay over
the incident," Masood said.
"Such incidents only betray the frustration of our
leadership," he added.
"Although Hizbul favors the merger of Kashmir with Pakistan,
the outfit would never rake any conflict on the matter at this
crucial moment."
Indian army chief Gen. S. Padmanabhan, said he was largely
pleased with the rebel response to New Delhi's ceasefire in
Kashmir.
"In general terms the response has been good. It's for the
government to decide on any extension. I will advise the
government when I am asked to," he told reporters in New Delhi.
Padmanabhan said some separatist groups did not seem to favor
the peace moves but added the army was applying "strict
restraint."
"This might change. Nothing in this world is static ... If
somebody is shooting at me, I can't be throwing flowers. We will
deal with them appropriately," he said.
India and Pakistan, which administer parts of the divided
Himalayan province, have fought two wars and a border conflict
last year over Kashmir.
Hizbul's Masood said the time has come when Kashmiris had to
prove to the world that they wanted a peaceful and negotiated
settlement of the longstanding dispute.
Masood was one of four field commanders who spoke to Indian
officials in Srinagar in July to work out the modalities of a
unilateral Hizbul ceasefire that collapsed within a fortnight.
Muslim militancy in Indian-administered Kashmir has claimed
more than 34,000 lives since 1989.
Police said seven people, including a minister's relative and
a prominent former Muslim militant, had been killed in separate
incidents in Kashmir since Monday evening.