Kashmiri separatist wants talks with India

A prominent Kashmiri separatist leader has said he is ready for talks with the Indian government on the future of the state, provided there are no preconditions.

In a statement released at the launch of his new political party the Democratic Freedom Party, Shabir Shah said that Kashmiris needed to review their course of action, since they were far from their political goal after nine years of sacrifice.

More than twenty-thousand people have died in Indian administered Kashmir since 1989.

Shabir Shah has repeatedly called for three-way talks among India, Pakistan and Kashmiri separatists but this is the first unconditional offer of dialogue he has made to India.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service