The Indian government was to decide Wednesday whether to renew its unilateral ceasefire against Muslim militants in Kashmir, after major political parties cautiously endorsed an extension of the truce.
Premier Atal Behari Vajpayee called a cross-party meeting to brief allies and opponents on the results of the three-month suspension of combat operations in the troubled region.
"There was no opposition to the government initiative of the ceasefire," Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pramod Mahajan was quoted by the Press Trust of India as saying after the two-and-a-half hour meeting.
Opposition leaders said they supported an extension of the ceasefire, which expires on February 26, but they demanded greater vigilance from the government to prevent fresh militant attacks.
"We are satisfied with the government's presentation," said the leader of India's main opposition Congress Party, Sonia Gandhi.
Somnath Chatterjee, of the Communist Party of India, added: "My party felt it was worth taking some more chance with the peace initiative."
The cabinet committee on security, which is chaired by Vajpayee and set to meet at 6:00 pm (1230 GMT) Wednesday, will however take the final decision on the truce.
Vajpayee is reported to be in favour of renewing the ceasefire to encourage peace efforts, but he is facing opposition from hawks within his own ranks.
The so-called ceasefire has always been rejected by the main Muslim militant groups fighting Indian troops in Kashmir, and there has been a series of spectacular attacks during the truce period.
Indian figures show a fall in deaths of police, troops and civilians in the 78-day ceasefire period compared with the previous 78 days. But they also show a huge drop in the number of militants killed from 435 to 187.
Opponents of the truce, such as Home Minister L.K. Advani, believe the measure is giving the militants valuable breathing space to re-group.
The All Party Hurriyat (Freedom) Conference , an alliance of Kashmiri separatist groups which has been in favour of the ceasefire, has accused the Indian authorities of merely paying "lip service" to the truce.
The APHC has in particular condemned the number of extra-judicial killings in the region.
India blames Pakistan for fuelling the 12-year uprising in the Indian-held section of Kashmir, and President K.R. Narayanan earlier this week accused Islamabad of deliberately undermining the ceasefire.
Islamabad, which denies giving military support to the Muslim groups, in turn accused India of carrying on a "campaign of terror and repression" throughout the truce.
Pakistan reacted to India's ceasefire decision late last year by announcing a policy of "maximum restraint" along the Line of Control dividing Kashmir and a partial withdrawal of frontline forces.
It has also promised to put Pakistan-based militant groups under greater scrutiny.
Muslim-majority Kashmir is divided into Indian and Pakistani zones and is claimed by both countries. India says 34,000 people have died in fighting in the region in the past 12 years.
Indian-controlled Kashmir has been rocked by some of the largest civil unrest in eight years in the past week after Indian troops opened fire on a crowd of mourners on February 15 in the town of Haigam, killing four people.
However the situation has been calmer over the past two days after the military lifted a curfew and Kashmiri separatist leaders called off a region-wide strike -- NEW DELHI (AFP)
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