MUZAFFARABAD, Pakistan-controlled Kashmir (AFP) - A top Kashmiri leader Friday called for greater diplomatic efforts to counter India's "war of wits" following its surprise ceasefire offer.
"It’s a peace initiative from [Indian Prime Minister] Atal Behari Vajpayee and we must come out with counter offensive measures so that the world does not dub us as terrorists who do not respect peace," Abdul Ghani Lone said.
"It’s a war of wits and we must answer it diplomatically."
The leader of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC), an umbrella group of Kashmiri parties based in Srinagar in the Indian zone of the divided state, said the ceasefire was hollow without tripartite talks including Pakistan.
"This is a good gesture, but Vajpayee needs to improve it. He needs to say that Kashmir is a disputed territory and should be resolved through tripartite talks," he said.
"We must put him to the test."
Kashmiri groups have rejected the ceasefire during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and have vowed to step up attacks.
Suspected Kashmiri fighters launched a series of grenade attacks in Indian-controlled Kashmir on Friday, injuring 15 people on the fourth day of the ceasefire.
On Tuesday the largest outfit, the Hizbul Mujahideen, killed three soldiers and injured a dozen more with a landmine attack.
The Hizbul offered a unilateral ceasefire in July but withdrew it two weeks later after India refused to sit at the negotiating table with Pakistan, which it blames for providing military support to the Kashmiris.
Pakistan denies the allegations and insists the violence in Kashmir can only end with three-way talks between Islamabad, New Delhi and the Kashmiris.
Lone arrived in Pakistan on November 16th for the wedding of his son with the daughter of Amanullah Khan, chief of the Pakistan-based Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front.
