India Asks Rebel Group to Begin Talks
India on Friday invited leaders of the pro-Pakistan Hizbul Moujahedeen militant group to contact the government for talks on how to restore peace in the troubled Himalayan region of Kashmir.
The invitation came after the Hizbul Moujahedeen’s announcement this week that it was declaring a three-month cease-fire.
Meanwhile, a top Indian general said his nation’s army has suspended all operations against Islamic militants in Kashmir for the first time in 11 years in response to the rebel group’s cease-fire.
But other guerrilla organizations rejected the move and said they would keep fighting.
Earlier Friday, 12 people were killed in a series of clashes between security forces and separatist militants and explosions in Jammu and Kashmir state, Indian police said.
Several groups have been waging an 11-year guerrilla war in Jammu and Kashmir--India’s only Muslim majority state--demanding independence or union with Islamic Pakistan.
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