India Government To Hole Talks on KashmirHome Minister L. K. Advani said Sunday that the Indian government had decided to hold peace talks "soon" on Kashmir with various groups in the disputed area but he ruled out a dialogue with Pakistan now."We have already decided who will hold talks and how to proceed with it. But peace talks would be with groups in India," Advani told Karan Thapar on BBC's "hardtalk" program. According to the Press Trust of India (PTI), the minister made it clear that "we do not propose at the moment to hold talks with Pakistan". Asked when the talks would start, Advani said "I hope soon, may be in May", adding that he would certainly be monitoring the course of the talks as Home Minister, but the actual talks might be conducted by others. Last February, Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee announced extension by three months the cease-fire he initiated towards the end of last November. While announcing the extension, Vajpayee said his government was ready to initiate talks with various militant groups in Kashmir. |
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