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| Afghanistan/South Asia |
| Indian Kashmiri moderates call for joint strategy to end dispute |
| 2005-06-04 |
| MUZAFFARABAD, Pakistan-controlled Kashmir - Moderate Indian Kashmiri separatist leaders on Friday called for legislators in the Indian and Pakistani zones to draw up a joint plan to peacefully end the row over the divided Himalayan state. A nine-member delegation, including seven from the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC), arrived Thursday in Muzaffarabad, capital of Pakistan's sector, on the first such trip since they launched their campaign against Indian rule in Kashmir in 1989. "We must come out with a joint strategy to reap the benefits of sacrifices offered by the Kashmiris to achieve peace in the region," Bilal Gani Lone told a special sitting of the state assembly in Pakistan-controlled Kashmir. Lone, a member of the APHC -- an umbrella group of about two dozen pro-independence parties -- also called for the involvement of Kashmiris in the ongoing peace dialogue between Pakistan and India. Lone said Kashmiris must rise above their political differences to achieve a durable solution to the Kashmir dispute. On Thursday the Kashmiri leaders called for three-way talks between Pakistan, India and Kashmiris. The separatist leaders were to hold formal talks with Pakistani Kashmir's Prime Minister Sardar Sikandar Hayat later Friday evening, a government official told AFP. The Hurriyat leaders are also expected to travel to Islamabad on Saturday for talks with Pakistani leadership. |
| Posted by:Steve White |