SRINAGAR, Jan 20: The All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) will urge the Indian government to call a ceasefire against Kashmiri mujahideen during talks in New Delhi, a leader of the alliance said on Tuesday.
The moderate wing of the APHC and Deputy Prime Minister Lal Krishna Advani are to hold first-ever high level talks on Thursday in New Delhi. "We will suggest India to declare a ceasefire against the mujahideen operating in (held) Kashmir," Umar Farooq, one of five Hurriyat leaders who will take part in the talks, said.
"It's definitely on our agenda," said Mr Farooq. "We want an end to violence as it will help push forward the peace process." "Whether they (Indians) accept the suggestion or reject it is up to them. But we will inform them about the benefits (of ceasefire)," Umar Farooq said.
"We've done our homework. We've met Kashmiris from all sections of society and are clear what we have to talk about," Hurriyat chief Maulana Abbas Ansari, who will lead the five-member team, said.
He said Hurriyat leaders had sought input from Kashmiri intellectuals and political experts and from politicians outside the organization. He added the dialogue "will be Kashmir-centric", saying there will be no pre-conditions on either side in the discussions.
Hurriyat will tell New Delhi it wants to visit Pakistan for discussions with Kashmiri leaders there, added Mr Farooq. "The visit to Pakistan is mandatory for pushing the peace process forward," he said.
Besides Umar Farooq, Maulana Ansari will be joined by Abdul Gani Bhat, Fazal Haque Qureshi and Bilal Lone. Hardliners have warned the moderates that they will face "a bad end" if they make any compromises in the talks with New Delhi. But the moderates maintain that they are not afraid and have vowed not to bend on their long-held stand that Kashmir's future can be resolved only through talks among India, Pakistan and the Kashmiris.
Mushtaq Zargar, chief commander of the Al Umar Mujahideen group, vowed on Tuesday that they would continue their armed struggle. "Talks will never resolve the Kashmir dispute. Jihad will," he said in telephone calls made to Kashmiri newspapers.
In the latest bloodshed in occupied Kashmir, five people were killed and four injured. Indian troops shot dead three mujahideen in two clashes, while mujahideen triggered a landmine blast, killing one policeman and injuring four others as they were on a routine patrol.
Police said a 19-year-old student died in crossfire between mujahideen and the Indian troops in Baramulla on Tuesday. But residents disputed the account and blocked a highway, accusing troops of killing the student as he left his house for Fajr prayers.-AFP