Army announces ceasefire

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI, NOV. 25. While in Jammu the Army today gave formal effect to the Centre's unilateral ceasefire by issuing instructions to all field commanders to stop combat operations against militants starting Tuesday next, in New Delhi, the initiative received a shot in the arm when the All-Party Hurriyat Conference leader, Mr. Yaseen Malik, led several Kashmiri groups in endorsing the Centre's offer.

Mr. Malik, Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front chairman, at a seminar organised as part of Track-II diplomacy efforts, equated the Prime Minister, Mr. A.B. Vajpayee, with the slain Israeli Prime Minister, Yitzhak Rabin, and said, ``Mr. Vajpayee is old, and an honest man. He is the only charismatic leader in India today. This is a bold initiative and if he can give permanent peace to the people of Kashmir, generations of Kashmiris will remember him for centuries to come.''

However, in the Valley, incidents continued unabated. Nine persons were injured when a grenade lobbed by militants at a moving security vehicle missed the target and exploded on the road in Baramulla district. Authorities imposed curfew in Kishtwar apprehending a communal backlash following the massacre of five Hindus in a remote village of Doda district on Friday. Six militants and a Special Police Officer were among eight people killed in incidents since last evening.

Not in LoC areas

Shujaat Bukhari writes from Jammu:

The orders announcing the Ramzan ceasefire were issued by Lt. Gen. Hari Mohan Khanna, General Officer Commanding (GoC) of Northern Command, defence sources said. However, this will not apply to areas falling under the Line of Control (LoC). The ceasefire will apply to all organisations, irrespective of their allegiance, sources said.

The instructions follow detailed reports from the field commanders on the ground situation which were submitted to the Army high command in the past few days.

`Peace needs sincerity'

Vinay Kumar writes from New Delhi:

Welcoming the ceasefire announced by the Prime Minister, Mr. Yaseen Malik said peace could not be created in a vacuum and that the effort needed a ``solid foundation''.

At a symposium on `Next Steps in Jammu and Kashmir: Give Peace a Chance' organised by the International Centre for Peace Initiative (ICPI), the JKLF chief drew a parallel with the Yitzhak Rabin initiative in Palestine. ``He is dead, but his peace process has not died. He faced criticism from his own party but he adhered to his initiative.''

Making an emotional appeal for sincere efforts, he spelt out three basic parameters for peace: there should be an atmosphere conducive to talks, all parties concerned must be present at the negotiating table, and no party should impose any condition.

He criticised the Government for clamping down on non-violent ways of expression. Citing his own arrest in Jammu recently, he accused the Shiv Sena-BJP-RSS cadres of taking to the streets and demanding trifurcation of Jammu and Kashmir.

Improve upon initiative, says Musharraf

By B. Muralidhar Reddy

ISLAMABAD, NOV. 25. The Pakistan Chief Executive, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, today said his country was prepared to respond positively if India agreed to ``improve'' on the Kashmir announcement.

In the course of a one-to-one 90-minute meeting with senior APHC leader, Mr. Abdul Ghani Lone, Gen. Musharraf reiterated that Kashmir was the ``core'' issue and there could be no solution without Pakistan's involvement.

The meeting was at the invitation of Gen. Musharraf. Mr. Lone said he was surprised to discover that Gen. Musharraf was ``straightforward, transparent, forthright and honest... he is very honest in seeking a solution to the Kashmir problem through dialogue.''

Mr. Lone said Gen. Musharraf could respond positively if the Indian initiative was ``improved upon''. He, however, refused to elaborate what steps from India could evoke a positive response.

Gen. Musharraf informed Mr. Lone of his meeting with the Janata Party president, Dr. Subramanian Swamy, three days ago.

GoM talks to task forces

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI, NOV. 25. The Group of Ministers on Security held an inconclusive discussion today with the chairmen of the four task forces. Even after three hours of deliberations, the GoM was left with an unfinished agenda, which the Ministers would try to dispose of when they meet again on Monday evening.

The GoM, comprising the Home Minister, Mr. L. K. Advani, the Defence Minister, Mr. George Fernandes, the External Affairs Minister, Mr. Jaswant Singh, and the Finance Minister, Mr. Yashwant Sinha, had before it the recommendations/tabulations of the inter-ministerial group of secretaries, headed by the Cabinet Secretary.

The GoM interacted with the chairmen of the four task forces: Mr. N. N. Vohra (Internal Security), Mr. Arun Singh (Defence Management), Mr. Garry Saxena (Intelligence) and Mr. Madhav Godbole (Border Management).The GoM will present a final report to the Prime Minister.

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