Talking ro rediff.com over the phone from Srinagar, the Mirwaiz said a ceasefire would help create the right atmosphere for talks and hoped that militant groups too would respond well if such a gesture was made by Delhi.

"There has been a considerable drop in terrorist activity in the last few months...the Laskar-e-Tayiba even announced a four-day Id ceasefire. I think time has come to make another serious attempt to sort out the Kashmir tangle," he said.

Mirwaiz said he was encouraged by Deputy Prime Minister Lal Kishenchand Advani's statement, in which he had offered to hold talks with separatist leaders. "I had felt encouraged by the statement and that is why I had responded to it. If the government of India takes one step we would walk a mile," he added.

"I am deeply disappointed to learn about the second statement of Advani, wherein the deputy prime minister has categorically ruled out holding talks with those organisations which speak the language of Pakistan," the Mirwaiz said.

"Let me clarify one thing. The All Party Hurriyat Conference is not speaking the language of Pakistan. It is, in fact, talking the language of the people of Kashmir. The right approach should be to hold talks with everyone. We are not saying that Delhi should talk to Pakistan along with us. Pakistan is a party to the dispute and that is a reality," he said.

He questioned what he called the double standards of the Government of India on holding talks with separatist leaders.

"They are holding talks with the Naga leaders in a third country and they are also giving them passports. But they are not issuing us passports to go to Pakistan to hold talks with various terrorist oufits," he said.

He complimented Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mufti Mohammed Sayeed for providing an accountable government.