Delhi warns Islamabad not to allow rebel visit

Indian foreign ministry spokesman Navtej Sarna was quoted in local media as saying New Delhi had no objection to Hurriyat leaders travelling to Pakistan-administered Kashmir on the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad bus which connects divided Kashmir.

He added, however, "The (Indian) government also has a clear understanding with Pakistan that passengers travelling on the bus can travel only within the territory of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir.

"This would be on the basis on which members of the Hurriyat could apply for travel on the bus... any travel beyond the territory would not be in keeping with the understanding between the two governments," he added.

The comment follows reports Pakistan would allow Hurriyat leaders to visit areas outside Pakistan-administered Kashmir.

Islamabad Monday invited the moderate and hardline factions of Hurriyat to make their first visit to the Pakistani zone of the divided territory as part of a 16-month peace process between the South Asian rivals.

Moderates have accepted the invitation while the hardliners are still mulling the issue.

According to an agreement reached between New Delhi and Islamabad earlier this year, passengers travelling on the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad bus should use travel documents rather than passports.

The documents are invalid for travel outside Kashmir.

Hurriyat leaders have long expressed their desire to visit Pakistan to discuss the Kashmir dispute and have also demanded a seat at the India-Pakistan dialogue table.

But India has kept them from travelling to Pakistan by refusing them passports.

India, which like Pakistan claims Kashmir in its entirety, has held several rounds of talks with the moderate separatists.

In Rawlpindi, talks between Pakistan and India to break their two-decade-old stand-off on Kashmir's Siachen glacier, the world's highest battlefield, ended in apparent deadlock yesterday, officials said.

Neither of the nuclear-armed rivals was prepared to give way despite hopes two days of meetings between top defence officials might resolve the row over the 21,000-foot (6,300-metre) high ice field, the officials told AFP.

An official joint statement issued at the end of the talks said the two sides had agreed to "continue their discussions to resolve the Siachen issue in a peaceful manner."

"The two sides held frank and constructive discussions with a view to taking the process forward. They expressed satisfaction at the ceasefire currently in place since November 2003 and agreed to its continuation," it said.

However a Pakistan official familiar with the talks said on condition of anonymity: "The Siachen talks have failed because both sides did not budge from their positions."

"The Indian position remains rigid, which cannot be accepted by Pakistan," the official added.