Military

DATE=10/24/03

TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT

TITLE=INDIA / KASHMIR (L)

NUMBER=2-309009

BYLINE=PATRICIA NUNAN

DATELINE= NEW DELHI

CONTENT=

INTRO: The Indian government says it is willing to be flexible to find

an end to the Kashmir dispute. Deputy Prime Minister Lal Krishna Advani

suggested Friday that the government would be willing to consider giving

the disputed region more power to govern itself. V-O-A's Patricia

Nunan in New Delhi has the details.

TEXT: India's deputy prime minister, Lal Krishna Advani, says the

government would consider discussing a so-called decentralization plan

giving more power to Kashmir.

/// ACT - ADVANI - in Hindi - EST AND FADE ///

Mr. Advani says the government has no problem talking about

decentralization. If there is a proposal, he says the government can

consider it. He adds that the government has done this in the past, in

talks with rebels in other parts of the country.

The deputy prime minister did not provide any further details about the

plan, but stressed that the government would not compromise on India's

sovereignty over Kashmir. And, he added, upcoming peace talks should not

be seen as a shift in India's policy toward Pakistan.

Mr. Advani made the comments two days after the government announced

that the deputy prime minister would be willing to meet with Kashmiri

separatists.

In the past, only low-ranking officials were sent to negotiate with the

separatist leaders - who in turn, would often refuse to meet with them.

No date has yet been given for the talks.

The All Parties Hurriyat Conference, a grouping of militant

organizations in Kashmir, welcomed the peace talks. Smaller militant

groups however repeated a demand that Pakistan be included in the talks

- a demand which India has consistently rejected.

Fighting has been simmering in Kashmir for decades. It flared again in

1989 when Islamic militant groups launched an insurgency against the

Indian military for control of the region held by them.

Some militant groups favor unification with predominantly-Muslim

Pakistan, while others seek outright independence. More than 64

thousand people have died since the conflict began.

The Indian government accuses Pakistan of harboring militant groups,

which cross into its territory to carry out attacks.

/// REST OPTIONAL ///

But there are signs that New Delhi wants to restart stalled peace talks

with Islamabad - much of which focus on the Kashmir question.

On Wednesday the government announced a series of proposals, including

plans to expand sporting events between the two nations. It also

announced the opening of a bus route that connects two cities in Kashmir

located on opposite sides of the "line of the control" that separates

the two nations' claims over the region.

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