The All Party Hurriyat Conference on Saturday welcomed Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's statement inviting Pakistan to take with India the road to peace.

"The prime minister's statement from the ramparts of the Red Fort on the country's Independence Day was positive. We want New Delhi and Islamabad to include Kashmiris in the talks while addressing the Kashmir issue," Hurriyat chairman Moulvi Mohammad Abbas Ansari said in Srinagar.

"We support resolution of the Kashmir issue through meaningful and result-oriented dialogue, which is possible only by including the people of Kashmir in the process."

Killings, whether on the borders or in Kashmir, should come to an end so that peace can return to the subcontinent, the Moulvi said.

Hailing the statement of J&K Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed calling for dialogue with separatists, he said, "We are the sons of the soil and cannot be ignored.

"Only meaningful dialogue, in accordance to the wishes and aspirations of the people of Kashmir, can lead to the solution of the Kashmir issue."