Kashmiri militants offer truce

A leading separatist group in Indian-administered Kashmir says it is ready to suspend the armed struggle if India makes a sincere effort to resolve the conflict over the territory.

Writing in a local newspaper, a senior leader Moin-ul-Islam of the Hizbul Mujahideen group did not specify what his group wanted the Indian Government to do, but said it was ready to declare a new ceasefire.

Two years ago Hizbul Mujahideen declared a unilateral ceasefire, only to withdraw it a week later when India refused to involve Pakistan in talks with the group.

The Indian Government later declared its own suspension of combat operations in Kashmir, but resumed them six months later when the move met with no response from the militants.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service