Hizbul Mujahedin to consider any truce offer by Delhi

The statement by a top Hizbul Mujahedin leader to a local news agency followed a pledge this week by India and Pakistan to reach a "final settlement" on Kashmir, the spark of two of three wars between the nuclear-armed neighbours.

"If they (the Indians) are serious about it (a ceasefire), Hizbul would seriously consider it," Gazi Misbahudin, chief operational commander of Hizbul Mujahedin, told the Kashmir News Service.

So far, India has made no ceasefire proposal.

But some Indian commentators have suggested it should make such a gesture in the wake of recent talks between Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf in New Delhi where they said the peace drive between the two nations was "irreversible".

Hizbul Mujahedin, based in Pakistan-held Kashmir, wants the divided territory reunited and joined with Pakistan, and is the key Islamic rebel group battling New Delhi's rule since a revolt erupted in the Indian zone in 1989.

Over 40,000 people have died in insurgency-related violence in Kashmir, according to official figures. Separatists say the toll is at least double that.

India announced a unilateral ceasefire in 2000 but abandoned it after six months in the absence of similar overtures by rebel groups, including Hizbul.

"Any ceasefire announcement should be followed in spirit on the ground," said Misbahudin, without elaborating.