24 January 2004	Saturday	01 Zilhaj 1424

NEW DELHI: Talks between the Indian government and Kashmiri leaders have broken new ground, but there is a long way to go before life returns to normal in occupied Kashmir, analysts say.

Still, the landmark meeting on Thursday represented a welcome change from when the two sides only traded accusations without being willing to listen to each other's views, analysts said.

"It's a very, very positive step - the thing has to be solved," said Kashmir University Professor Bashir Dabla. "The point is not whether they got something or not but that there is a consensus among the partners in the conflict that it should be resolved."

On Thursday, the moderate wing of occupied Kashmir's main group, the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC), and Indian Deputy Prime Minister Lal Krishna Advani called for an end to violence in the Muslim-majority territory.

They agreed to more talks to find a solution to a crisis that has left at least 40,000 dead by the official toll and at least double that number by the Mujahideen's tally.

The encounter was the first time the Kashmiris and the Indian government had held such high-level talks and came only two weeks after India and Pakistan agreed to resume discussions next month on a host of disputes, including Kashmir, trigger of two of three wars between the neighbours.

Several APHC leaders want independence for Kashmir or its incorporation into Pakistan. India and Pakistan hold Kashmir in part but claim it in full. Nuradin Baba, head of the political science department at Kashmir University, said it was too much to hope the dispute could be resolved swiftly.

"They have to break the psychological barriers on all sides. But at least it generates a positive atmosphere to hope in the society and creates goodwill."But political analyst Kalim Bahadur said the fact the two sides were able to produce a joint statement was a good start.

He added it had become imperative for Hurriyat to hold talks with New Delhi after India and Pakistan agreed to hold a dialogue next month. "The environment has changed in the region because of the India-Pakistan peace moves," he said. "If the Hurriyat does not come around, it will become irrelevant."

However, he added that questions about how more pro-Pakistan groups will take the talks remain unanswered saying: "One has to keep one's fingers crossed over how the militants and the other Hurriyat faction react," he added.

Syed Ali Geelani, head of Hurriyat's hardline faction, described the talks as "a total flop show" while another leader, Shabir Shah, who is not part of Hurriyat, accused the moderates of "rushing into a dialogue".

The moderates form the majority of the Hurriyat's seven-member executive but the group - a fractious coalition of around two dozen political, religious and community groups - is split down the middle over holding talks with New Delhi.

"The talks are part of an overall strategy to lower tensions and reduce violence," said political analyst Brahma Chellaney at New Delhi's Centre for Policy Research.

But he said solving the dispute by only holding talks with the Hurriyat was not possible as they represented only part of the Kashmiri population. "The Hurriyat is at best a loose alliance of varied interests whose only glue holding them together is agitation against the central government's polices," Mr Chellaney said.

He added there was too much hype over Mr Vajpayee's recent visit to Pakistan and an unreal "rosy picture" was being painted. "Once the nuts and bolts of the issues are discussed, then the reality will resurface."

Still, he said a huge benefit of the talks was that the Kashmiri leaders who had once vowed to wage armed struggle were publicly committing to finding a peaceful resolution. -AFP