SRINAGAR, Jan 18: Kashmir’s main separatist alliance urged the United States on Friday to take steps to resolve a dispute over the Himalayan region which is at the heart of a military stand-off between India and Pakistan.

“We appeal to the United States to take concrete steps towards the solution of Kashmir dispute in accordance with the wishes and aspirations of the people of Jammu and Kashmir,” the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) said in a statement.

India and Pakistan have massed troops on their border in a crisis triggered by an attack last month on parliament, which New Delhi has blamed on Pakistan-based Kashmiri separatists. Pakistan condemned the attack.

The APHC bands nearly two dozen religious, political and social groups, and wants implementation of a 1948 United Nations resolution calling for a referendum to decide whether the mainly Muslim region should be part of Pakistan or India.

The APHC asked the United States to ensure that Kashmiris get a say in the negotiations.

“As long as the Kashmir dispute is not addressed, there’s no chance of peace in the subcontinent. We appeal to Colin Powell to ensure the participation of Kashmiris in future India-Pakistan peace talks,” the APHC statement said.

India and Pakistan have fought two of their three wars over the disputed region since 1947.

Nearly a dozen militant groups are fighting New Delhi’s rule in Jammu and Kashmir.

Authorities say more than 33,000 people have been killed in the scenic region since a bloody rebellion broke out at the end of 1989. But THE freedom fighters put the toll closer to 80,000.

Security tightened: Security was stepped up in occupied Kashmir on Friday after a bomb blast in a grain market left a boy dead and eight other people injured, officials said.

The blast happened on Thursday evening in occupied Jammu, barely one hour after US Secretary of State Colin Powell arrived in New Delhi.

“We have stepped up security in Jammu after the explosion,” a police official said.

“We are looking for terrorists who triggered the bomb explosion that killed an innocent boy,” said the official.

Police and paramilitary forces raided several hotels in held Jammu and pulled in several youths for questioning, although they were later released.

“What has happened in Jammu is unacceptable. It is terrorist violence. It has nothing to do with any so-called freedom fight,” Indian Foreign Minister Jaswant Singh said on Friday following talks with Powell, who also condemned the blast as an act of “senseless violence”.—Agencies