NEW DELHI, Feb 14: Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has called an all-party meeting next week to search for a solution to the Kashmir issue, and sources said on Tuesday the move might not be unrelated to a diplomatic season in which the presidents of France and the United States are due here shortly.

The announcement of the proposed meeting for Feb 24 quoted Dr Singh’s media adviser as describing it as a roundtable conference. It would thus aim to include India-backed Kashmiri groups as well as assorted resistance leaders.

A recent precedence may hold a clue. In November, Hurriyat chief Mirwaiz Umar Farooq for the first time sat at a Hindustan Times-sponsored seminar with Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti, both from the pro-India corner.

But all three campaigned for greater autonomy in Kashmir and reduction in state-backed violence in the region.

French President Jacques Chirac is due to arrive here on Feb 19 and US President George W. Bush next month. Both claim reasons to ask searching questions on Kashmir.

One more announcement on Tuesday, this by the foreign ministry, focused on a Kashmir-specific issue. A bridge has now been built by the Indian army at Kaman to facilitate the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad traffic. It will be inaugurated on Feb 20.

The PTI said that the Feb 24 meeting was likely to be attended by mainstream political parties and “separatist groups of the state”. It is being seen as part of the government’s efforts to broaden the dialogue process.

“The centre has made it clear that it would hold talks with a cross-section of political leaders from the state and Singh had kicked off the exercise by meeting a delegation of Hurriyat Conference in New Delhi on Sep 5, 2005,” PTI said.

The Indian premier is scheduled to hold talks with JKLF chief Yasin Malik on Feb 17.