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SRINAGAR, Apr 23: Internal cease fire, withdrawal of troops and inclusion of Kashmiris into Indo-Pak talks were the main suggestions made by most representatives of Jammu & Kashmir during the proceedings of Pugwash conference here today.

The conference which lasted for more than three hours was attended by former diplomats, ambassadors and other prominent persons from different walks of life. Leaders of some of the mainstream parties and some of the separatist leaders also took part in the conference. Prof Sidiq Wahid, who is holding the Maharaja Gulab Singh chair at the Jammu University chaired the conference and secretary general, Pugwash, Paolo Cotta Ramusino was also present there.

During the conference, the ongoing peace process between India and Pakistan and the subsequent confidence building measures were welcomed. The speakers felt that the people of the valley have not been taken into confidence by the governments of India and Pakistan while treading on the path of peace and amity. They stressed upon the need for taking the people of the state into confidence in the ongoing bonhomie between India and Pakistan.

The participants were of the view that without the participation of Kashmiris desired results of the ongoing peace process cannot be achieved and it may turn out to be a damp squib. Therefore, they asked the governments of India and Pakistan to take a proper note of this and do the necessary.

The participants during the course of meeting devoted much of their attention on the peace process in the context of Kashmir issue and they made it a point that more emphasis should be given on Kashmir centric CBMs. These people opined that the re-opening of the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad road is not enough and the other routes should also be re-opened so that more and more people meet each other and express their emotions as well as sentiments.

More and more participation of the Kashmiri people in the Indo-Pak talks, withdrawal of troops and release of the detenues were some of the important points which came up for the discussion during the conference. The speakers also favoured internal cease -fire. Those who participated in the conference include C. Rajamohan, political and strategic affairs analyst, G. Parthasarthy, former ambassador, M. K. Rasgotra, former foreign secretary, Kapil Kak, former diplomat, Ved Bhasin, chairman Kashmir Times group of publications, Nirmal Singh, state BJP president, Prof Saif-ud-din Soz, former parliament member, Jitender Bakshi, president, action committee for return of migrants, Prof Bhim Singh, president, Panthers Party and Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami, secretary, state CPI (M).

The separatist leaders who took part in the meeting included Prof Abdul Gani Bhat, chief spokesman, Hurriyat Conference (A), Ghulam Rasool Dar (Eidi), JKLF, Sajad Lone, chairman, Peoples Conference (S group), Mohammad Abdullah Tari, Democratic Freedom Party, (DFP). The others who were also present in the conference included Prof Noor Mohammad Baba, HOD, Political Science, University of Kashmir and Parvez Imroz, patron, coalition of civil societies (CCS).

Later talking to media persons, the chief spokesman of the Hurriyat Conference (A), Professor Abdul Gani Bhat said that the steps being taken by the governments of both India and Pakistan are in the forward direction and none of them is in the reverse direction.

"The steps being taken by India and Pakistan give the impression that they are interested in solving the Kashmir issue. This is a very positive sign and I welcome this and hope that this would lead to a long lasting solution to the Kashmir issue", said Prof Bhat. The chief spokesman of Hurriyat Conference (A) said that there are many forums which are working in the resolution of the Kashmir issue and Pugwash is one of them. He added that it is a very good thing that the relations between India and Pakistan have become favourable and it gives a hope to the Kashmiris that all would be well.

"We had proposed that both prime minister Dr Manmohan Singh and president General Parvez Musharraf should meet and that happened. This is a part of the whole process and I hope that this peace process leads to some concrete results. We are ready to play our part and it is a quite satisfying that the steps are heading in the right direction", said Prof Bhat.

Prof Sidiq Wahid, said that the meeting was held to frame out the agenda for the next joint Pugwash meeting of India and Pakistan. He added that during the meeting it was felt that there is a need for giving more and more representation to the people living in areas like Gilgit, Baltistan and Ladakh.

Former ambassador, G. Parthasarthy, was of the view that the people living in the sub-continent should rise above their stated positions so that the tedious issues like Kashmir are solved and long lasting peace is ensured in the whole area. He added that Pugwash is a non-government forum and they have nothing to do with the steps being taken by the governments of India and Pakistan.

"We can only offer suggestions from our side as ours is a non-government forum. We cannot influence the decisions being taken by the governments of India and Pakistan and it must be clear to everybody. We are doing our bit and let the government do its own", said Parthasarthy.

Ghulam Rasool Dar (Eidi), who represented JKLF in the conference said that it has always been the stand of his party that Kashmiris have to be included in the confidence building measures and without their participation there cannot be desired results in the peace process.

"I told them that the resumption of the bus service between Srinagar and Muzaffarabad is a welcome step, but it is very important that common masses are involved in this whole process. More and more inclusion of the Kashmiris in the whole peace process would lead to the desired results, otherwise, it would be a futile exercise", said Eidi.