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| Sunday, 25 January 2004 |
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Indian Kashmir chief to release political prisoners SRINAGAR, India, Jan 24 (Reuters) - The chief minister of Indian Kashmir said on Saturday more than a dozen political prisoners would be released as part of peace moves aimed at ending a bloody revolt in the disputed region. "Nearly 18 (political prisoners) will be released today and more will be released later on Republic Day," Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Syed told reporters in New Delhi after meeting Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee. Human rights groups say there are scores of people detained without trial in jails in Muslim-majority Kashmir. India and Pakistan have agreed to resume bilateral talks in February over a range of disputes, including Kashmir -- at the heart of more than five decades of enmity and the cause of two wars. Indian soldiers recovered rockets and grenades on Saturday from a rebel hideout in Srinagar, Kashmir's main city, which authorities said were aimed at disrupting India's Republic Day celebrations in the troubled region. Separatist guerrillas, fighting Indian rule in the disputed Himalayan region since 1989, have often targeted the festivities that are held every year on January 26. "According to intelligence input, this consignment was meant for carrying out attacks in Srinagar city during the Republic Day celebrations," a Border Security Force (BSF) spokesman said. The BSF spokesman said the rockets and other ammunition were recovered from a hideout of Jaish-e-Mohammad, a Pakistan-based rebel group accused by New Delhi for an attack on the Indian parliament in 2001 that brought the nuclear-armed neighbours on the brink of their fourth war. The BSF recovered 45 kg (99 lbs) of explosives on Friday from a hospital near Srinagar's main stadium where the Republic Day celebrations are to be held. A hardline faction of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC), the main political separatist group, and another prominent group, the Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front, have called for a strike on Monday to protest against the Republic Day celebrations. Hurriyat leaders met Vajpayee and Deputy Prime Minister Lal Krishna Advani this week for unprecedented talks aimed at ending the revolt in Kashmir. But violence has continued in the region where seven people, including a woman and four rebels, were killed and 10 injured in separate gun battles, police said. About a dozen Islamic rebel groups have been fighting Indian security forces in the region where more than 40,000 people have been killed in the revolt so far. Separatists put the toll at more than 80,000. |
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