Singh to hold key Kashmir talks

APHC faction leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq had requested talks

Indian PM Manmohan Singh has announced he is to hold his first talks with Kashmiri separatists opposed to Delhi's rule in the divided region.

The talks with the moderate faction of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference will be held in Delhi on 5 September.

The faction held two rounds of talks with the previous Hindu nationalist government. Hardliners in the APHC oppose dialogue.

More than 40,000 people have died in 14 years of insurgency in Kashmir.

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Kashmir dispute

The talks with the APHC will be the first for Mr Singh since his election in May last year.

A dialogue between the conference and his Congress-led government stalled in August last year when the separatists objected to conditions set by Delhi.

June visit

In June, the chairman of the alliance, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, said he had conveyed to Delhi his faction's desire to resume talks.

On Wednesday, he said: "We have in principal accepted the invitation and are going to New Delhi for talks.

The main thrust will be on how to find a peaceful and lasting solution to the Kashmir issue Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, APHC

"If we can build trust and confidence, the Kashmir dispute can be resolved," he told the BBC.

He said they would take up the issue of alleged human rights violations by Indian security forces in Kashmir as well as the release of political prisoners.

"However the main thrust will be on how to find a peaceful and lasting solution to the Kashmir issue acceptable to... India, Pakistan and the people of Jammu and Kashmir."

The sticking point has been that the conference wants to be part of three-way talks with India and Pakistan over the future of Kashmir, something India has not agreed to.

In June, leaders of the moderate faction made a landmark visit to Pakistan for talks with President Pervez Musharraf and other leaders.

The visit was described as a success by the separatists but was criticised by India's main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party.

Both India and Pakistan claim Kashmir in its entirety and have fought two of their three wars since independence over the region.

Kashmir is also likely to be high on the agenda when Mr Singh meets President Musharraf on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York this month.