NEW DELHI, Feb 15: Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front Chairman Mohammad Yaseen Malik said on Wednesday he would meet Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Feb 17.

Mr Malik told the Indian media in Srinagar that he would urge the prime minister to start talks with the Kashmiri resistance groups on the model of India’s discussions with Naga rebels fighting for an independent homeland in the northeastern region of the country.

Talks between Naga leaders and Indian officials have been held in third countries. There was no discussion with the state chief minister, Mr Malik added.

JKLF General Secretary Ghulam Rasool Dar alias Edi will accompany Mr Malik for the talks with Dr Singh.

Mr Malik said the decision to meet the Prime Minister was taken after two days of hectic discussions within his group.

“The JKLF wanted a place for Kashmiris in the decision-making dialogue process (between India and Pakistan) and not for a photo opportunity,” he said.

Reuter adds:

Indian Prime Minister has called a conference of Kashmiri politicians and leaders this month to help boost a peace process in the region, his spokesman said on Wednesday.

The Feb 24 conference would be held in the Indian capital and aims to broaden the dialogue in the region where New Delhi has so far held one-to-one talks with political Kashmiri groups.

“The Centre has made it clear that it would hold talks with a cross-section of political leaders from the state,” spokesman Sanjaya Baru said in a statement. The conference was likely to be attended by Kashmiri groups as well as mainstream political parties in the state, he said.