Kashmiri separatists return home upbeat

New Delhi Friday (AFP) - Moderate separatist leaders from Indian Kashmir returned home from a historic trip to Pakistan saying they were ready to hold a new round of talks with New Delhi on the future of the troubled Himalayan region.

The nine leaders, who have been on a two-week visit to Pakistan, arrived on the new trans-Kashmir bus service early afternoon at Kaman Post on the Line of Control, the de facto border dividing mainly Muslim Kashmir between India and Pakistan.

They later reached Srinagar, the summer capital of Indian-administered Kashmir, in a motorcade under tight guard by India's security forces. "It's been a very successful trip for us," said Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, leader of the moderate faction of Kashmir's main separatist alliance, the All Parties Hurriyat Conference.

"We're ready for talks with New Delhi but it's for them to decide when they want to talk," Farooq told AFP shortly after crossing back into the Indian zone.

"The biggest benefit from the trip is that Kashmiris are being accepted as a party to the dispute," Farooq said.

"Our triangular approach has been appreciated in Pakistan and in Pakistan-administered Kashmir," Farooq added.