India and Pakistan: Kashmir is the main point

Hurriyat leaders from Kashmir arrived for talks in the Pakistani capital on Saturday, shrugging off India's objections to their travel beyond Pakistani-controlled Kashmir. A delegation of the &to=http:// english.pravda.ru/world/2002/06/13/30254.html ' target=_blank>All Parties Hurriyat Conference, the main political separatist alliance, crossed into Pakistan on Thursday for an historic visit that was another sign of slowly improving relations between South Asia's rivals.

But the Indian government objected to their plans to travel outside Pakistan occupied &to=http:// english.pravda.ru/columnists/2002/11/01/38996.html ' target=_blank>Kashmir (PoK), saying it had an understanding with Islamabad that those using a new bus service the group used for their trip should restrict their travel to Kashmir.

Pakistan argues that the Hurriyat leaders are not ordinary bus passengers and enjoy "special status".

There was no immediate Indian reaction to the arrival of the delegation in Islamabad, informs Newindpress.

According to the India Daily, Kashmiri separatist leaders today demanded that Kashmiris be included in the peace talks between India and Pakistan, stressing that the move will "make the process irreversible."

Addressing members of the Pakistan-Administered Kashmir (PAK) legislative assembly, the separatist leaders said they were carrying "new ideas and concrete proposals" for lasting peace in the state but cautioned both India and Pakistan against "imposing any solution or their favoured leaders" on the Kashmiri people. The leaders said they would share their ideas with both the PAK as well as the Pakistani leadership.