SRINAGAR, April 29 (1997): Israeli psychic Uri Geller has offered 50,000 dollars for information on four westerners kidnapped 21 months ago in the Indian state of Kashmir. Geller, who became famous performing feats of telekinesis such as bending spoons on television, said he was prepared to act as a negotiator and try and secure the release of the four missing hostages. "I am prepared to act as an intermediary on behalf of the hostages so that their case could be heard at the highest level," Geller said in an open...

ISLAMABAD, April 29 (1997): A militant group fighting Indian rule in Kashmir on Monday proposed a truce and demilitarisation in the divided Himalayan region before setting up a U.N.-supervised transitional administration there. The Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) said in a statement its Pakistan- based chairman Amanullah Khan had written to the prime ministers of India and Pakistan calling for a democratic decision about Kashmir's future after five years' transitional government. The JKLF is one of several...

JAMMU, April 27 (1997): Indian Prime Minister Inder Kumar Gujral, on his first visit to the troubled Kashmir region since assuming office, said on Sunday he had no plans to start talks with a leading organisation of separatists. "The process of normalisation is under way. The elected government is firmly saddled," Gujral told reporters at Jammu, winter capital of the state of Jammu and Kashmir. (For complete story write to admin@freepresskashmir.com)

SRINAGAR, April 26 (1997): Unidentified gunmen, believed to be Kashmiri separatists, shot dead five members of a family in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir, police said on Saturday. They said the attackers entered a house on Friday night at Warpush village near Ganderbal town, 21 km (14 miles) northwest of Srinagar, the state's summer capital, and fired indiscriminately, killing four residents on the spot. Another family member, who was injured, died later in a hospital, police said. In the same area,...

SRINAGAR, April 25 (1997): Separatist guerrillas shot dead five pro-government militants in India's troubled state of Jammu and Kashmir, police said on Friday. They said the members of the Ikhwan-ul-Muslimoon group were killed on Thursday night in the town of Sumbal, 29 km (18 miles) northwest of the state's summer capital of Srinagar. "All those killed were residents of the Nasabal area of Sumbal. Police are investigating the case," a police spokesman said in Srinagar. (For complete story write to...

LONDON, April 24 (1997): Israeli psychic Uri Geller on Thursday put up a $50,000 reward for the release of Western hostages held in Kashmir for almost two years and offered to act as an intermediary with the guerrillas who seized them. He also urged millions of people around the world to concentrate their minds every day and try to reach the kidnappers. "The families approached me and asked me if I could help. Obviously I agreed as what you are talking about here is human life," he said. (For complete story...

SRINAGAR, April 24 (1997): Kashmiri leaders said on Thursday they believed India's new Prime Minister Inder Kumar Gujral could help normalise relations with Pakistan and bring peace to a Himalayan region torn by years of insurgency. "If Mr Gujral continues to be prime minister of India for a longer period, I believe he can play a historic role in bringing India and Pakistan closer and solving the Kashmir problem," popular separatist leader Shabir Ahmad Shah told Reuters. "This man I know personally, he is true to his...

NEW DELHI, April 24 (1997): The families of two Britons abducted nearly two years ago in Kashmir said on Thursday they would seek help from Pakistan's intelligence service, Moslem leaders and government officials in finding their loved ones. "We hope to be able to make an appeal at the main mosque in Muzaffarabad," said Bob Wells, father of hostage Paul Wells. He was referring to the capital city of the one third of Kashmir that Pakistan controls. Wells, who was due to arrive in Pakistan on Friday, said he would also...

SRINAGAR, India, April 26 (1997): Ten people were killed in violence in the Kashmir Valley as a strike called by Moslem militants to denounce alleged atrocities by Indian troops crippled the troubled state Saturday. Four members of one Moslem family were shot dead by suspected militants at a village about 30 kilometers (18 miles) from here overnight when they refused to give the rebels shelter, police said. The victims included a man, two women and a child. Hundreds of furious villagers held a demonstration in the...

SRINAGAR, April 23 (1997): Relatives of two British hostages seized in Kashmir 21 months ago Wednesday said they would not give up hope for their loved ones until they received firm information on their fate. Repeated appeals to the captors had drawn a blank, they told a news conference shortly before leaving for New Delhi after a four-day Kashmir visit. "But we will not rest until we have some information on our loved ones," said Julie Mangan, wife of hostage Keith Mangan. "I can't express ... my life has become...