June 4, 2003	Wednesday	Rabi-us-Sani 3, 1424

SRINAGAR, June 3: Opposition lawmakers in held Kashmir urged Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee on Tuesday to announce a unilateral truce in the Valley.

“We are cutting across party lines and urging the prime minister to declare a unilateral ceasefire,” said Mubarak Gul, a young lawmaker from Kashmir’s main opposition National Conference (NC).

“There should be a fresh ceasefire as it will provide an opportunity for youths with guns to come to the mainstream,” he said in the state assembly.

The NC, which was swept from power by the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in alliance with India’s main opposition Congress in September/October state elections, is part of Vajpayee’s BJP-led coalition in central government.

Gul and his partymen welcomed Vajpayee’s peace overtures and expressed hopes they should succeed.

A fresh ceasefire would help in “creating peace and provide an honourable exit to the men with guns in the region,” he said.—AFP