October 24, 2003	Friday	Sha’aban 27, 1424

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SRINAGAR, Oct 23: The All Pakistan Hurriyat Conference (APHC) said on Thursday that it needed more time to respond to an offer by the Indian government for talks on the freedom fighting in the disputed territory.

This was the first offer from Indian government it was willing to hold such talks with Kashmiri separatists since a rebellion against its rule began in 1989.

“As for the offer of talks, the APHC executive council has decided to procure a broader consensus,” senior Hurriyat leader Abdul Gani Bhat told reporters in Srinagar.

“We will be therefore talking to groups inside Hurriyat and outside Hurriyat.”

Hurriyat, which group of 27 political and community groups, seeks a plebiscite to determine the wishes of Kashmiris. The alliance split last month with a new hardline faction backed by militant groups firmly opposing talks with New Delhi.

But the offer for talks was slammed by a top pro-Pakistan Kashmiri militant leader who said it was an attempt by India to deceive the world.

Syed Salahuddin, founder of the Hizb-ul-Mujahideen group, told reporters in Muzaffarabad, that India’s offer of talks was aimed at diverting international pressure to resolve the Kashmir issue.

He said talks to resolve the thorny dispute should include Pakistan.

“There are three parties to Kashmir and any attempt to ignore one party means the issue will be prolonged and not get solved,” Salahuddin said, referring to Pakistan.

Mr Salahuddin said the proposal for a Muzaffarabad-Srinagar bus service was actually an attempt by India to convert the status of the military Line of Control, which divides Kashmir between Pakistan and India, into a permanent border.

“The Kashmiri people know very well such tactics,” said Mr Salahuddin, who is also the chairman of United Jihad Council — an umbrella organization grouping half a dozen Kashmiri militant parties fighting the Indian army in Kashmir.—Reuters