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PM extends ceasefire in J&K by a month

Our Correspondent in New Delhi

Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee announced in Parliament on Wednesday that the government had decided to extend the ceasefire in Jammu & Kashmir by one month, till Republic Day 2001.

Vajpayee said the suspension of operations could be further extended if Pakistan reciprocated this gesture.

The prime minister also said talks with Pakistan could begin if they were held on the basis of the Simla Agreement and the Lahore Declaration. But for that, he said, there had to be a complete stop to violence in the valley.

In Srinagar, Jammu & Kashmir Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah welcomed Vajpayee's statement and said he too supported the peace initiative, but Pakistan must stop the violence in the valley before it could be invited for talks.

In Islamabad, a spokesman of the foreign office said the government would respond to Vajpayee's statement after studying it.

Text of PM's announcement

The Government's Ceasefire: The complete coverage

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