Ramzan truce makes no sense: Syed Salahuddin

Salahuddin says if the government is sincere, then as a good gesture, they should withdraw their forces to the pre-1989 position.

Pakistan-based terrorist group Hizbul Mujahideen on Wednesday said "there is no sense" in Ramzan ceasefire and it was willing to "stop operations" in Jammu and Kashmir if Army troops in the state moved to position before the outbreak of militancy.

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"There is no sense in a Ramzan ceasefire. It means that for one month, there is no violence but for the rest of the 11 months, forces will continue their killings and so will terrorists".

"So, if the government is sincere, then as a good gesture, they should withdraw their forces to the pre-1989 position and we will stop operations, I assure you," Hizbul Mujahideen Chief Syed Salahuddin told NDTV from Muzaffarabad in Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir.

Salahuddin favoured a long-term ceasefire in the state, a move seen by New Delhi as an attempt to keep its flock together as rift has widened in recent times.

The outfit's North and South Kashmir commanders have not been cooperating with each other.

Salahuddin sought to downplay the implication of the joint anti-terror mechanism set up by India and Pakistan after talks between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and President Pervez Musharraf saying it did not apply to Hizbul or any other terrorist group operating in Jammu and Kashmir.