Indian premier and Kashmir separatists meet for second round of talks
The talks come after the region's worst massacre in years. A massive manhunt is under way to capture those responsible for two attacks on 1 May: four rebels were killed this morning.
New Delhi (AsiaNews/Agencies) Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will meet Kashmir separatists today, two days after suspected Islamic militants carried out the region's worst massacre in six years.
Singh will hold his second meeting with the main separatist alliance of Kashmir, the All-Parties Hurriyat Conference.
Meanwhile, the Indian government has launched a massive operation to capture the terrorists who massacred 35 Hindus on 1 May in the predominantly Muslim region of Jammu and Kashmir. Rather than intensify military presence in the area, New Delhi has decided to concentrate on the targeted neutralisation of killer squads. This morning, four rebels were killed in two separate operations. The premier and the Hurriyat leader, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, condemned Monday's attacks; no one has claimed responsibility for either of the two attacks as yet. The killings in Doda and Udhampur districts are widely held to be an attempt to sabotage today's talks.
During the first round of talks last September, Singh had promised to cut the number of troops in Kashmir if militant violence declined. He also said he would review cases of people held in Kashmiri prisons.
Farooq, meanwhile, said New Delhi would have to take a new approach to solve the decades-old problem of Kashmir. The leader said: "Pakistan is very serious about resolving the dispute over Kashmir and India should also show flexibility in its stand." Farooq said proposals presented by Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf for India to withdraw its troops from three key cities in Kashmir should not be rejected out of hand, because it was important to build "reciprocal trust".
Kashmir is held in parts by India and Pakistan but claimed in full by both.
At least 44,000 people have been killed in the region since 1989, when an Islamic revolt against the Indian government was launched. Throughout the years, thousands of Hindus have fled from their homes. People said they were weary of violence. "We have seen so much bloodshed that some of us have become insensitive. These killings should end," said Thakur Dass, who was visiting a relative wounded in the 1 May attack.
The government and separatists will meet again on 25 May in Srinagar in Kashmir. Separatist militants are against the talks. The Hurriyat, an umbrella movement gathering dozens of moderate groups, wants the population of Kashmir to decide the region's fate themselves, for example through a referendum based on a UN Security Council resolution.
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