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J&K separatist groups want peace talks

Senior Hurriyat Conference leader Abdul Ghani Lone said Thursday that there are Kashmiri separatist group waiting to open peace talks with India.

He said there obviously has been some communication gap between the political leaders of these groups and their mujahideens (holy warriors).

"While the political wings of these groups have welcomed the Indian government's ceasefire offer, more militant elements have opposed the same," Lone said in an interview in Pakistan, where he recently attended his son's marriage with the daughter of Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front chief Amanullah Khan.

"We are trying to reach a consensus with mujahedeen. They should not act as an independent force, but follow the political leadership," Lone said.

Rebel groups, represented by the United Jehad Council headquartered in Pakistan, have rejected the ceasefire offer. They have also vowed to step up their attacks against Indian troops in Kashmir.

Lone was critical of the disjointed response to India's ceasefire offer from the political and military wings of the secessionist movement.

"We should consult each other before making decisions so that Kashmiris do not appear as a divided house," Lone said.

He said the separatist movement is indigenous, although there are Pakistanis fighting in Kashmir.

He said though his political colleagues are ready to talk to India, Islamabad eventually has to be brought to the negotiating table and New Delhi has to move away from the position that Kashmir is an integral part of India.

"Kashmiris would have no option other then to keep the pot boiling if New Delhi sticks to its stand that Kashmir is an integral part of India," he said.

PTI

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