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SRINAGAR, India (AFP) - Kashmir's frontline Muslim guerrilla group Hizbul Mujahideen said Tuesday a new ceasefire was possible within two months but denied plans for secret talks with the Indian government.
"Efforts at the international level are on to remove the bottlenecks and impediments coming in the way of resumption of a dialogue," Hizbul's field commander in Kashmir, Abdul Majid Dar, told the local CNS news agency. "I am confident that the ceasefire will again come into force within two months" Dar said in Srinagar, summer capital of Indian-administered Kashmir. "Hizbul Mujahedeen is fully aware of the wishes and aspirations of the people [of Kashmir] and that is why it is desirous of the resumption of talks with the Indian government." The Hizbul ended a 15-day unilateral ceasefire in Kashmir on August 8th after India refused its demand to include Pakistan in peace talks, saying Islamabad must first suspend its support for the armed insurgency in the disputed territory. In his latest remarks, Dar, 50, stuck to his guns and said the insurgency, which has, with Indian reaction to the uprising, left more than 25,000 people dead in Kashmir since 1989, will not end without Pakistan's involvement in tripartite talks. "Whatever solution comes out of the trilateral talks will be acceptable to my organization irrespective of whether the solution is in favor of India or Pakistan", Dar told CNS. "India should realize that Pakistan is an important party to the Kashmir dispute. Without its participation, the resolution to the dispute cannot be sought," he said. Dar said that several people had offered to play a role and try to end the deadlock. He also appealed to Kashmir's political parties to help "create a congenial and conducive atmosphere for the resumption and successful culmination of negotiations." Dar rejected suggestions that a secret dialogue between the Hizbul and India was on the cards. "There is no question of holding secret talks with New Delhi. "We believe in transparency, and whenever talks will take place they will be open and the media will be aware of it," Dar said. Kashmir Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah had said Monday that Hizbul was preparing to open a secret dialogue with the government of Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee. "Abdullah should act in a realistic way and adopt a policy which will bring the parties nearer to each other rather than create mistrust," Dar said in the interview. Hizbul announced its unilateral ceasefire on July 24th, and its field commanders engaged in one round of talks with Indian government officials. But the group's Pakistan-based supreme commander, Syed Salahudin, withdrew the ceasefire after just 15 days. The collapse of the ceasefire saw an upsurge in separatist violence in Kashmir. Dar rejected speculation of a split within Hizbul, fuelled by contradictory statements from Salahuddin and his Kashmir commanders since the collapse of the ceasefire, which was honored by Indian security forces in Kashmir. "There are no differences among the Hizbul leadership," Dar said, adding that he was in daily contact with Salahudin. India accuses Pakistan of arming and training the Islamic extremist groups in Kashmir. Islamabad denies the charge but offers diplomatic and moral support to what it describes as the Kashmiris' just struggle for self-rule. |
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