Hezbul militant leader offers talks to Delhi

The statement came hours before the arrival of Pakistani President Gen. Pervez Musharraf in India on a goodwill tour.

"I believe that no freedom fighter will attack or fire a single bullet on the bus. These are not our concerns," Syed Salahuddin, the chief commander of the Pakistan-based Hezbul Mujahedeen group, told the private Zee News in an interview.

Rebels have threatened the bus service, and the building where passengers were staying was torched a day before the April 7 start of the service.

Hezb-ul Mujahedeen is the biggest of about a dozen armed rebel groups in Indian-controlled Kashmir that have been fighting Indian security forces since 1989 to carve out a separate homeland or merge the Himalayan region into Pakistan.

Salahuddin said he was ready for peace talks with India.

"If India invites us, we will definitely come to the table," said Salahuddin, a former teacher and politician.

Security officials estimate that Hezb-ul Mujahedeen has half of the estimated 3,000 militants in the Kashmir Valley.

The territorial dispute over Kashmir are at the heart of festering India-Pakistan tensions. Pakistan says it is cracking down on the militants, but India alleges that the rebel training camps have not been dismantled by Pakistan.

Rivals of three wars, both countries are now trying to solve their differences at meetings like Musharraf's weekend visit.