Rebel group says would consider any truce offer by India

SRINAGAR, Sunday (AFP) Indian Kashmir's main rebel group said it would "seriously consider" any ceasefire offer by New Delhi to end bloodshed in the insurgency-racked region.

The statement by a top Hizbul Mujahedin leader to a local news agency followed a pledge this week by India and Pakistan to reach a "final settlement" on Kashmir, the spark of two of three wars between the nuclear-armed neighbours."If they (the Indians) are serious about it (a ceasefire), Hizbul would seriously consider it," Gazi Misbahudin, chief operational commander of Hizbul Mujahedin, told the Kashmir News Service.So far, India has made no ceasefire proposal.

But some Indian commentators have suggested it should make such a gesture in the wake of recent talks between Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf in New Delhi where they said the peace drive between the two nations was "irreversible".

Hizbul Mujahedin, based in Pakistan-held Kashmir, wants the divided territory reunited and joined with Pakistan, and is the key Islamic rebel group battling New Delhi's rule since a revolt erupted in the Indian zone in 1989.