Ramadan ceasefire in Kashmir

Refugees from an Indian border area leave home for a safer area

The Indian army has begun a unilateral ceasefire in Kashmir to mark the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

Calling on Kashmiri separatists to respond positively, the army said it would halt offensive operations but would retaliate if attacked.

Several Pakistan-based militant groups have rejected the offer, describing it as a ploy by India to win international sympathy.

In the past, militants have increased attacks on security positions and soft targets during Ramadan

Indian border police officer

But the chief minister of Indian-administered Kashmir, Farooq Abdullah, told the BBC he was confident the militants would respect the ceasefire.

He predicted it would become permanent, paving the way for peace talks between India and Pakistan.

The Indian Government also called on Pakistan to honour the ceasefire.

"What Pakistan can do now is to immediately stop infiltration by militants and their training in camps and also stop the supply of weaponry and explosives," said Home Minister Lal Krishna Advani.

Border vigil

Despite the ceasefire, border troops are said to be on alert along the Line of Control, which divides Indian and Pakistani forces in Kashmir.

Hindu nationalists protest in Jammu at the murder of 10 Hindus and Sikhs

"In the past, militants have increased attacks on security positions and soft targets during Ramadan," a border police officer told the AFP news agency.

The BBC's Mike Wooldridge says the mood among the residents of Kashmir is one of uncertainty and apprehension.

In the days leading up to the ceasefire 10 Sikhs and Hindus were killed in two separate incidents in Kashmir, the only Indian state with a Muslim majority.

An earlier ceasefire, called in July this year by one of the main militant groups, Hizbul Mujahideen, started well but ended in bloodshed.

It produced a watershed meeting between Indian Government officials and militant commanders, but also triggered an upsurge of violence, attributed to forces opposed to the ceasefire.

Nearly 100 people died in a series of massacres.

Peace moves

Correspondents say that there are behind-the-scenes efforts to bring Pakistan and India to the negotiating table over Kashmir.

An initiative, described in the Indian media as Track-II diplomacy, is being undertaken by several prominent members of the Indian and Pakistani intelligentsia.

An American of Pakistani origin, Mansur Ijaz is currently in Delhi as part of this process.

Mr Ijaz - who some see as an envoy of US President Bill Clinton - has been making frequent visits to India and Pakistan in the past year as part of a private effort to break the logjam over Kashmir.

The Indian Express newspaper said serious attempts are being made to prepare the ground for peace talks between India and Kashmiri militant groups, with Pakistan being included at a later stage.

But, the newspaper said, everything depended on whether the ceasefire stayed in place.