Delhi to cut troops if violence halts

"The Prime Minister (Manmoh-an Singh) said that if there is a cessation of violence and end to infiltration, conditions will be created for the reduction of armed forces (in Jammu and Kashmir)," said a media statement released by the Prime Minister's media advisor Sanjaya Baru.

The statement came after Singh held the first-ever official talks with a delegation of Jammu and Kashmir's biggest separatist alliance All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) at his residence here Monday evening. The two-and-half-hour meeting included formal talks and a dinner.

During the meeting, the Indian prime minister also agreed to review all cases of detention and a time-bound review of those held under the Public Safety Act and the now-defunct anti-terrorism law Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA).

Singh also "promised to ensure that violation of human dignity would not be tolerated and the government would take all necessary measures to safeguard against human rights violations", Baru said.

Singh made it clear that violence has no place in democracy and reaffirmed his faith in a peaceful solution of all issues pertaining to Jammu and Kashmir and his commitment to ensure a life of peace, self-respect and dignity for the people in the state.

The statement said it was agreed to carry forward the dialogue process so that all shades of political opinion in Jammu and Kashmir are involved. But no date has been fixed for future round of talks.

Singh's meeting with a five-member team of moderate separatists led by Hurriyat Chairman Mirwaiz Umer Farooq came ahead of the Indian prime minister's meeting with Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf in New York on September 14 on the sideline of UN General Assembly session.

The Hurriyat Conference has been seeking scaling down of security forces' strength in Kashmir valley, release of political prisoners and withdrawal of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act there.

The Hurriyat, for its part, emphasised that an honourable and durable solution should be found to the Kashmir issue through dialogue and it was agreed that the only way forward is to ensure that all forms of violence at all levels should end, the statement added.

Umer Farooq told reporters after the talks that Hurriyat appreciated the Prime Minister's decision for a time-bound review of the cases of political detainees in the state.