NEW DELHI, Dec 8: An influential leader of the largest separatist alliance in Indian Kashmir has called for talks with the Indian government, the Hindustan Times daily reported on Sunday.

“If there is a will and urge to resolve the bigger issue of Kashmir, I’m sure that things can start working after the Gujarat elections,” the newspaper quoted Mirwaiz Umer Farooq, executive member of the All Party Hurriyat Conference, as saying.

Elections in will be held next Thursday.

The newspaper said Farooq, also a former Hurriyat chairman, made it clear the Hurriyat would not insist on including Pakistan in the dialogue.

“Let there be talks, we can work out modalities later... We need not necessarily involve all the parties at the same time,” he told the daily.

The Hurriyat has in the past refused to hold talks with the Indian government unless Pakistan was included in the dialogue.

The Hurriyat leader told the daily a four-day ceasefire announced by the Lashkar-i-Taiba separatist group was a step towards peace and dialogue. “We can build on this,” he said.

Last week, Lashkar-i-Taiba called for a four-day ceasefire in Kashmir to mark the Eid-ul-Fitr holidays.—Reuters