Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

DATE=02/18/01

TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT

TITLE=INDIA/KASHMIR UPDATE (L-O)

NUMBER=2-272727

BYLINE=ANJANA PASRICHA

DATELINE=NEW DELHI

CONTENT=

VOICED AT:

///// ED'S: UPDATES INTRO OF CR2-272719 WITH DECISION DELAY. /////

INTRO: India's government has postponed a decision on whether to extend its nearly three-month unilateral ceasefire in Kashmir. News reports say there are sharp divisions within the government on extending the truce that is to expire next week. Anjana Pasricha in New Delhi reports the Indian army has issued an appeal for an end to violence in Kashmir.

TEXT: Police fired tear gas and chased away angry protestors in Srinagar as stone-throwing demonstrators roamed the streets in defiance of a curfew. Authorities imposed the curfew over much of the city in response to street protests that have erupted across the region in recent days.

The protests erupted after Indian security forces shot dead four demonstrators last Thursday in Haigam, 40-kilometers north of Srinagar. Those killed were part of an angry crowd protesting the death of a Kashmiri independence activist in police custody.

Senior military officials in Kashmir appealed for peace Sunday, saying the army has begun an independent inquiry into the killings of the four civilians. At the same time, however, police placed several senior Kashmiri separatist leaders under house arrest.

The flare-up in violence in Kashmir is worrying the Indian government, which declared a unilateral ceasefire in late November hoping to initiate a peace process in the region.

The ceasefire has been extended twice - but has failed to reduce the level of violence. Analysts say there has been no progress in the search for a political settlement of the disputed Kashmir region.

Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpaye said Saturday the ceasefire had not had its desired impact. He admitted violence had not ended, and accused Pakistan of not controlling Muslim militants whom India blames for fueling the insurgency in Kashmir.

The ceasefire was rejected by Muslim separatist groups who had vowed to step up violence, and continue their armed struggle for Kashmir's independence from India. (SIGNED)

NEB/AP/PFH/rae