SRINAGAR, Aug 13: Two militant groups in held Kashmir have rejected a call by the region’s woman politician for a truce, saying their “jihad” would continue until the region was wrested from India. Ms Mehbooba Mufti had appealed to Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf Thursday to help bring peace to the revolt-hit region by persuading militants to declare a ceasefire.

“Encourage them to announce a ceasefire,” Mehbooba Mufti urged Musharraf. “People in Kashmir want peace, not violence.”

But the region’s most powerful group, Hizbul Mujahedin, said it would not agree to any ceasefire in the 16-year-old insurgency against New Delhi’s rule.

“The jihad will continue until Kashmir is liberated from India,” Hizbul’s spokesman Junaid-ul-Islam was quoted by a local news agency.—AFP