SRINAGAR, May 10: The head of the moderate wing of Indian Kashmir’s main group offered on Tuesday to step down in the larger interest of unity among Kashmiris. Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, however, demanded the head of the hardline faction of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference, make a similar gesture.

“In the larger interest of unity, we are ready to dissolve the alliance structure (moderate faction),” said Mr Farooq, 33, who is also the head of Kashmir’s Jamia Masjid. “Even I, as Hurriyat chairman, am ready to step down,” he said.

“But this can happen only if the other faction comes forward in the same spirit,” he told a news conference in Srinagar. Farooq’s offer came after President Pervez Musharraf said Hurriyat leaders should use their “brain,” set aside differences and hold talks with India on the territory’s future.—AFP