NEW DELHI, Jan 29: Indian Defence Minister George Fernandes said on Thursday the government had no plans to declare a ceasefire against militants fighting Indian rule in Kashmir despite peace talks with moderate separatists.

"There is no proposal to announce any ceasefire in operations against militants even as an Eid gesture. Nobody has mooted it," Fernandes told reporters on the sidelines of an Asian Security Conference.

A Kashmiri separatist leader Mirwaiz Omar Farooq told reporters this week he was optimistic New Delhi would declare a unilateral ceasefire next week to coincide with the Muslim festival of Eid.

"Eid is approaching so we are hopeful the government of India will announce a unilateral ceasefire," said Mirwaiz Farooq, a senior leader of the moderate wing of Kashmir's main separatist alliance, the All Parties Hurriyat Conference. "The first initiative should be taken by the government of India ... we hope the militants will reciprocate and we can move forward," he added.

Last week, moderate separatist leaders held landmark talks with Indian Deputy Prime Minister Lal Krishna Advani after which both sides issued a statement calling for an end to violence in Kashmir. They agreed to hold further talks in March.-AFP