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| Thursday, 22 January 2004 |
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Kashmir alliance to press India for ceasefire SRINAGAR, India, Wednesday (Reuters) The chairman of Kashmir's separatist alliance said the group would press the Indian government to declare a ceasefire against rebels in the strife-torn region at peace talks this week. Talks set for January 22 in New Delhi between the moderate faction of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference and Deputy Prime Minister Lal Krishna Advani will be the first between the two sides since a revolt erupted in the Himalayan region in 1989. "Kashmir is burning, people are dying daily...one of our main efforts will be to press India for a ceasefire (against militants)," Hurriyat Chairman Moulana Abbas Ansari told Reuters in an interview. "I am extremely hopeful India will agree to it (the ceasefire). This will push the peace process forward." India and Pakistan agreed late in November to a ceasefire on the military control line dividing Kashmir between the nuclear-armed neighbours in a region where about a dozen groups have been fighting Indian rule for 14 years. But separatist violence has continued in Kashmir despite peace moves between the two countries, who stood on the brink of war over the disputed region in mid-2002. Nine people including seven militants and a policeman were killed in fresh shootouts and explosions across the region, police said on Tuesday. Ansari said Hurriyat would also seek to persuade New Delhi to let alliance leaders visit Pakistan to aid the peace process. "Maybe if India allows us to visit Pakistan we can persuade mujahideen leaders also to call for a ceasefire which will pave the way for a suitable atmosphere," Ansari said. "I am extremely optimistic about the outcome of the talks (with New Delhi). But this is a 56-year-old dispute and years of mistrust, one cannot expect results overnight. But many positive things will happen," Ansari said. "Everybody has to show flexibility. We are looking for a respectable solution which is acceptable to millions of people of India, Pakistan and Kashmir," Ansari said. A Kashmiri rebel group, Jamiat-ul-Mujahideen, has threatened to kill the leaders of Hurriyat if they started a dialogue with the Indian government. "I am not scared, if I die my people will be proud of martyrdom. At any cost, we have to stop the daily bloodshed and miseries of people in Kashmir," Ansari said. "There are people on both sides who don't want peace to return for their vested interests." |
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