Kashmiri leaders met on Thursday to plan a strategy and choose representatives for high-level talks with the Indian government to resolve the decade old dispute in the Himalayan region.
The meeting between leaders of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference and India's Deputy Prime Minister Advani will be held in New Delhi on January 22.
Maulvi Abbas Ansari, Chairman of the Hurriyat, said meeting in Srinagar, was to "generate a broader consensus on the course of action that will be followed while negotiating with India."
"After mutual agreement, we will also select a team which will go to Delhi to meet Indian leadership," Ansari said.
Leaders of the Hurriyat had rejected talks in the past because India only assigned low-ranking officials to deal with them. But Advani's participation in the negotiations could mark a step toward ending the conflict that has killed 65,000 people in the occupied Kashmir since 1989.
Despite the hope for peace, a car bomb attack on paramilitary troops Thursday indicated freedom fighters remain intent on trying to force India's withdrawal from the region.
Following the invitation from the Indian government, guerrilla groups have threatened to kill the Hurriyat leadership, The Kashmir Monitor reported on Thursday.
Security for Hurriyat leaders was enhanced following the threats. Senior police officer Javed Gilani said more guards have been deployed at their homes and offices,
"All of them have been provided with adequate security," Gilani said.
Although India and Pakistan agreed in November to a cease-fire along the LoC Mujahideen groups have said they would continue attacks to wrest control from India.
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