'US think-tank invites Kashmiri leaders to talks in Nepal'

The three-day conference set for mid-December will be held in Kathmandu, they said.

"All the separatists have been invited by Pugwash and I'm among them," senior separatist leader Shabir Shah said. He added he was uncertain whether New Delhi would clear the visits to Nepal.

"The indications I'm getting is we (separatists) may not be allowed to visit," he said.

Others invited include Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, leader of the moderate wing of the main separatist alliance Hurriyat, and about 80 other delegates including scholars, public figures and peace activists from South Asia, the United States, Britain and elsewhere.

If the talks go ahead, it would mark the first time Kashmiri leaders from both sides have had the chance to discuss the region's future among themselves.

Pugwash holds conferences around the world to seek solutions to global problems.

Kashmir, held in part by India and Pakistan but claimed in full by both, has been the cause of two of their three wars. Indian Kashmir is in the grip of a 15-year-old revolt against New Delhi's rule that has left tens of thousands dead.

Earlier this week India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh held talks with his Pakistani counterpart in New Delhi.