JAMMU, Nov 18: Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Thursday wrapped up his first official visit to occupied Kashmir with an appeal to militants to lay down their arms , while offering more incentives to the violence-hit region.

"Time has come for the misled youth to come back to the mainstream of politics by eschewing violence... Our doors are open for everyone. We invite you without any preconditions," Mr Singh said at a public meeting in Jammu, the state's winter capital.

"I have come with a message that time has now come for a new chapter in Jammu and Kashmir - a chapter of harmony and development."For this, it is very important that there is peace in the state.

"I can assure you that the centre (federal government) will work shoulder to shoulder with the state government to bring about an atmosphere of peace and to rid Jammu and Kashmir of poverty and unemployment," he said.

There was a high alert in Jammu on Thursday, with all vehicles forced off the road, while the prime minister was in the city.

Continuing the message of economic development he began delivering in Srinagar on the first day of his visit on Wednesday, Mr Singh announced the lifting of a freeze on recruitment in government jobs. The ban was imposed two years ago because of the state's severe financial problems.

On Thursday, he visited the Muthi refugee camp for Hindus who fled fighting between militants and Indian occupation forces where he said displaced families would be provided with two-roomed tenements 'whether in Jammu or Delhi' and an inter-ministerial team set up to look into their grievances.

Earlier, the prime minister presided over a meeting of the Unified Command - a security body comprising army and civil officials - and reviewed the security situation.

He was briefed that the level of infiltration from across the Line of Control had gone down sharply, an officer who was present at the meeting said.

Mr Singh's visit came as India staged a high-profile pullout of some troops from the state, its first since the uprising broke out in 1989, and the prime minister renewed his pledge to pursue the peace process with Pakistan.

"By deciding to withdraw part of our force we have taken a risk, but it is a calculated risk," Mr Singh told a news conference at the end of his visit.

Asked whether Pakistan should reciprocate by cutting back its troop deployment in Azad Kashmir, he said: "If they do something like that, it will be a good step."

Meanwhile, some Kashmiri leaders said in Srinagar the involvement of Pakistan was essential if their talks with New Delhi on the future of Kashmir were to move forward.

Two rounds of talks with the previous government had been based on three principles, said Mirwaiz Umar Farooq.

"The three principles were that talks on Kashmir should be unconditional, Kashmir-centric and mandatory involvement of Pakistan in the talks," he said.

"Now it is up to the government of India whether it wants to accept these principles and resolve the issue through talks or it wants to take some other course."

Leaders of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference, who held a meeting in Srinagar, said they also wanted a direct invitation from New Delhi for resumption of the peace talks launched earlier this year.

"We are waiting for both. Both have to be addressed," Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, the head of a faction of the Hurriyat told a news conference a day after the Indian prime minister offered fresh talks.

"There has to be an invitation from the government of India and there has to be a commitment by the government of India that yes, they will allow Hurriyat to talk to Pakistan so that the process can move on," he said.

Mr Singh said the Hurriyat demand was unfair. "I have not laid down any preconditions and I don't expect anyone else to lay down preconditions," he told reporters in Jammu at the end of his two-day visit to the state.

"It is not fair that anybody else lay down a precondition that he or she should be allowed to go there before they talk to us," he said.

Mr Singh said, during his visit to Srinagar on Wednesday he had invited "one and all" in Kashmir for talks and that included the Hurriyat as well.

Mirwaiz Umar Farooq said Hurriyat leaders would meet Pakistani Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz when he visits New Delhi next week and discuss proposals to resolve the Kashmir dispute.

Referring to Mr Singh's offer of talks, he said: "There should be a proposal on the ground but they are not making any concrete proposals. There is confusion. He has not spoken openly." -Agencies