Jammu, September 18
PDP leader and former Chief Minister Mufti Mohammed Sayeed today said the meeting between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf at Havana had revived the hope for lasting peace in Jammu and Kashmir.

He was addressing a public meeting at Samba near here. He said all sides had now realised that a mutually acceptable solution to the Kashmir tangle was a must and their rigid stand over the past 59 years was unrealistic.

He said it would be a grand gift from Dr Manmohan Singh and Gen Pervez Musharraf to the people of the state if they could put an end to the conflict and destruction of life and property and lead the region towards peace and prosperity.

He said a time-bound institutional mechanism must be put in place for the implementation of J&K-specific confidence building measures.

He said as already outlined by Dr Manmohan Singh, India and Pakistan must facilitate creation of a collaborative and consultative mechanism between two parts of Jammu and Kashmir to maximise the gains of cooperation that would ultimately lead to the resolution of political, economic and social problems in the area.

Till the time a mutually acceptable framework for resolution of the political aspect of the Kashmir problem was worked out, there should be side-by-side tangible movement on promotion of travel, trade, tourism and economic cooperation across the Line of Control (LoC).

He said the frequency of the bus service between the two parts of Kashmir should be increased. Movement o passengers across the LoC should be made easy, he added.

Tourism and Irrigation Minister Dillawar Mir said the PDP-Congress coalition government had set new standards of governance, making the people of all three regions taste the fruit of equitable development.

He accused the National Conference of misleading the people and indulging in emotional exploitation.

Srinagar, September 18
Even as the Pope tendered an apology, normal life was paralysed across Kashmir today in protest against his remarks against Islam and Prophet Mohammad, the call for which was given by the hardline faction of the Hurriyat Conference and supported by other organisations. Protest demonstrations were held at several places for the fourth consecutive day.

All the shops and other business establishments were closed here and passenger transport was off the road. However, private vehicles and auto-rickshaws plied in most parts of the city. Passenger traffic remained suspended on inter-district routes. Educational institutions and banks remained closed .

Srinagar, September 18
Militants killed a soldier and planted two improvised explosive device (IED) to target security forces in Jammu and Kashmir overnight.

An official spokesman said militants attacked a security force patrol party at Salwa in Poonch district of Jammu region late last night. The security forces returned the fire and in the clash a soldier was killed. Militants escaped.

Official sources said militants had planted two IEDs at two different places in Bijbehara in Anantnag district this morning. However, a patrol party detected a mine at 9.15 a.m. while another was detected at 9.45 a.m.

Both the IEDs were defused by a bomb disposal squad without causing any damage. — UNI