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J&K security forces stand by
ceasefire despite attacks

"As far as we are concerned, the ceasefire will continue for one month come what may," Kashmir Deputy Inspector General K R Kumar told AFP.

Army and paramilitary forces ceased all operations against militant groups in J&K as of midnight Tuesday, in line with the ceasefire announced by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee for the Muslim holy month of Ramzan.

The first day of the initiative was marred by a landmine blast that killed three soldiers and injured a dozen more.

In another incident, a border patrol fired on a group of militants crossing into J&K from Pakistan. Five militants, two soldiers and one civilian were killed in the ensuing shootout.

"Obviously, this is a testing period for us," Kumar said. "The first day was peaceful apart from these isolated incidents and I feel there has been a change of heart and thinking among militants," he added.

However, the militant group, which claimed responsibility for Tuesday's landmine blast - Hizbul Mujahideen - made it clear that more attacks would follow. "We are determined to continue our operations," said the group's Pakistan-based spokesman Salim Hashmi.

Hizb and most other militant groups have rejected the ceasefire offer as a propaganda ploy and threatened to step up operations against the security forces.

The All Party Hurriyat Conference - an amalgam of about two dozen Kashmiri separatist parties that had given a guarded welcome to the ceasefire announcement - on Wednesday said that isolated militant attacks were inevitable.

"Let us not forget that there is many a slip between the cup and the lip," APHC chairman Abdul Ghani Bhat told AFP.

"The encounters are part of the game. We have to take a much bigger step towards resolving the dispute to ensure peace in the region," Bhat said.

The APHC insists that a genuine peace dialogue on J&K can only take place once India drops its objection to Pakistani involvement.

The last ceasefire - offered by the Hizbul Mujahideen in July - lasted just two weeks before collapsing when India refused to allow Pakistan to participate in peace talks.

During the Hizbul ceasefire, hardline groups opposed to the peace process massacred nearly 100 people, mostly Amarnath yatra pilgrims and migrant workers.

Union Home Minister Lal Kishan Advani said on Tuesday that the government had taken a 'calculated risk' by offering the ceasefire and would not allow 'terrorists' to derail the process.

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