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Hizb says peace talks incomplete without militants
 A top Kashmiri militant commander said an Islamic insurgency in the disputed Himalayan region wouldn't end until India and Pakistan include the militants in peace talks, a news agency reported on Wednesday. The comments by Misbah-ud-Din Ghazi of the Hizb-ul-Mujahedeen are the first by a militant leader suggesting the insurgents - who have been fighting to wrest Kashmir from India since 1989 — would consider playing a role in the peace process that was launched in January 2004 to end decades of enmity over the region between India and Pakistan. "India and Pakistan are engaged in talks to promote bilateral trade and ties," Ghazi was quoted as saying by Kashmir's Current News Service. "The talks to resolve Kashmir cannot begin without (Hizb-ul-Mujahedeen) being at the forefront," Ghazi said, adding that until the militants are brought into the negotiations "the armed militant lion is the only way to take the Kashmir struggle to a logical conclusion".Kashmiri groups have been excluded from peace talks involving India and Pakistan, although Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has held preliminary talks with nonviolent Kashmiri separatists, and Hizb-ul-Mujahedeen briefly opened negotiations with New Delhi in 2000. Posted by: Fred 2006-03-16 |
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