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Syed Salahuddin, Supreme commander of Hizbul Mujahideen whose militants are fighting in Indian Kashmir against the Indian army, addresses his supporters in Muzaffarabad capital of Pakistan's administered Kashmir on Wednesday, July 13, 2011. Salahuddin said, that the future of the Kashmir movement looks very bright. (AP Photo)
More than 1,000 people in Pakistani-administered Kashmir on Wednesday demanded a role in the latest round of peace talks between bitter rivals India and Pakistan.
Activists from jihadi groups rallied in the regional capital Muzaffarabad and also called for holy war against India, an AFP reporter said.
"Talks between India and Pakistan will be in vain without Kashmiri representation," said Syed Salahuddin, head of militant group Hizb-ul-Mujahedin which is fighting Indian rule in the divided Himalayan region.
"We are not opposing the dialogue process but it will remain useless without the participation of Kashmiris," he added.
India and Pakistan have fought two of their three wars over the fate of Kashmir, which is divided between the two countries. An insurgency against Indian rule in Kashmir has claimed tens of thousands of lives in two decades.
The latest round of peace talks comes after a break of more than two years, which followed the killing of 166 people by Islamist gunmen in Mumbai in November 2008 in attacks that India blamed on Pakistani extremists.
The foreign ministers of India and Pakistan are scheduled to meet later this month in New Delhi.
The peace talks have focused on the fate of the divided Himalayan region of Kashmir, peace and security and confidence building measures.
Relations between India and Pakistan, which have fought three wars since the subcontinent was partitioned in 1947, have been plagued by border and resource disputes, and accusations of Pakistani militant activity against India.
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