New Kashmiri alliance formed

Kashmiri separatists in Pakistan have announced the formation of a new alliance committed to fighting for an independent Kashmir.

The All Parties National Alliance or APNA consists of twelve small groups drawn from both Pakistan-administered Kashmir and Pakistan's disputed northern areas of Gilgit and Baltistan.

At a news conference in Rawalpindi, the alliance demanded that both India and Pakistan immediately release jailed members of the group including Rauf Kashmiri of the Jammu-Kashmir Liberation Front, who's in prison in India.

Alliance leaders said they would support the All Parties Hurriyat Conference, which is based in Srinagar in Indian-administered Kashmir, provided it worked for the unity of the whole of Kashmir.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service