Kashmir talks move on

Thousands have died in the Kashmir conflict

Indian Government negotiators and Hizbul Mujahideen militant commanders in Kashmir are preparing for a new round of talks.

The discussions are aimed at firming up the recently agreed ceasefire but are expected to take place away from the glare of publicity.

The move to find peace in the region comes amid a recent series of massacres which have left more than 90 people dead.

Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee has accused the Pakistan-based militant group Lashkar-e-Toiba of carrying out the murders.

Talking peace

Hizbul Mujahideen - the largest Kashmiri militant group - announced ceasefire last week.

Staying out

Lashkar-e-Toiba, Harkat-ul-Mujahideen and about 15 other groups have rejected the ceasefire.

But the group, which opposes a political settlement in Kashmir and rejects the ceasefire, has denied any involvement.

Since 1989 more than 25,000 people have been killed in the separatist struggle in Jammu and Kashmir.

The issue of Pakistan's involvement in talks on the future of Kashmir has already emerged as the first potential point of deadlock.

On the day the Indian negotiators and Hizbul Mujahideen commanders first sat down together in Srinagar to agree on the framework for their further contacts, the militant movement's chief in Pakistan set a Tuesday deadline for India to agree that Pakistan would be able to become a partner in the talks.

Point of contact: Fazal-Haq Qureshi

Mr Vajpayee dismissed the idea, saying the talks now under way were between two parties, the government and a group of people who were Indian citizens.

Our correspondent Mike Wooldridge says the Hizbul Mujahideen deadline, still hangs over the ceasefire, theoretically at least.

But the separatist leader Fazal-Haq Qureshi, who had been nominated by Hizbul Mujahideen to establish contact with the government, told the BBC in an interview on Saturday that he believed the Tuesday deadline was a result of a communications gap.

He said he hoped Hizbul Mujahideen would change their minds when they received feedback on the positive atmosphere during the first talks with the government.

Vajpayee: Violence is futile

Mr Qureshi also said he was convinced that the Indian Government was sincere about entering into a dialogue from the way it had responded to the Hizbul Mujahideen ceasefire.

But the main Kashmiri separatist alliance - of which Mr Qureshi's party is a member - said the talks were without direction.

Meanwhile, two more people have been killed in western state of Gujarat during protests over the killings in Kashmir.

Five people have now died in two days of violence in the city of Surat, in which shops and factories were set on fire.