Agence France Presse

Srinagar, April 23:

Kashmir’s main rebel group said today it would “seriously consider” any ceasefire offer by New Delhi to end bloodshed in the insurgency-racked region. The statement by a top Hizbul Mujahedin leader to a local news agency followed a pledge this week by India and Pakistan to reach a “final settlement” on Kashmir. “If the Indians are serious about it (a truce), Hizbul would seriously consider it,” Gazi Misbahudin, chief operational commander of Hizbul Mujahedin, told the Kashmir News Service. So far, India has made no ceasefire proposal. But some Indian commentators have suggested it should make such a gesture in the wake of recent talks between Indian PM Manmohan Singh and Pakistan President Musharraf in New Delhi.