Hard-line Islamic coalition says Pakistani leader has betrayed

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan -- Other countries praised Pakistan's president after he signaled new flexibility on the flashpoint issue of Kashmir, but hard-liners in his own country accused him of being soft on rival India.

Meanwhile, the nuclear-armed South Asian neighbors announced the resumption of passenger and freight train services between the two countries, beginning Jan. 15, after a gap of two years.

Pakistan and India nearly fought a war in 2002, but tensions have recently eased. Last month, they began a cease-fire at the military line that divides Kashmir, where they'd routinely shelled each other for years.

President Gen. Pervez Musharraf said on Thursday that Pakistan was willing to look beyond a long-standing U.N. resolution that calls for a referendum in the disputed Himalayan region. The resolution has been the bedrock of Pakistan's Kashmir policy for half a century, but is strongly opposed by India.

On Friday, India responded positively to Musharraf's remarks.

"We have always suggested flexibility. It is Pakistan which has been very rigid," External Affairs Minister Yashwant Sinha told reporters in India. He said it was Pakistan which keeps talking about the centrality of the Kashmir issue.

"If there is any change in or modification in Pakistan's position, that is something which India will always be ready to welcome," he said.

Separatists vs. hard-liners

Some Pakistani commentators welcomed Musharraf's comments, and separatist leaders in India's portion of Kashmir also saw it as a step forward.

But the hard-line Islamic opposition coalition Mutahida Majlis-e-Amal, which controls one of Pakistan's four provinces and shares power in another, said any move toward dropping the resolution would be a "betrayal of Kashmiris" and "surrender before India."

"Nobody has a right to change Pakistan's Kashmir policy," said Liaquat Baluch, a spokesman for the MMA, which has a strong voice in parliament.

In Washington, U.S. State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said it was "constructive to relinquish the demand for a referendum on the status of Kashmir."

Pakistan and India have fought two of their three wars over Muslim-majority Kashmir since they gained independence from Britain in 1947.

The U.N. resolution calls for Kashmiris in both the Pakistani-and Indian-held parts of the territory to vote on whether a united Kashmir should join predominantly Hindu India or Islamic Pakistan. The vote has never taken place because of India's objections.

A senior separatist leader in Indian-held Kashmir said Musharraf's comments opened up a third option -- independence for Kashmir -- not included in the U.N. resolution.

"Musharraf's statement is a step forward. It allows for a new option that Kashmiris can opt for independence," Shabbir Ahmad Shah said. "The plebiscite demand only limits our options."

But Syed Salahuddin, head of Hizbul Mujahedeen, the main Pakistan-based guerrilla group fighting Indian rule in Kashmir, gave a cool response and asked Pakistan's government not to give any more concessions to India.

"India has not made even one millimeter of change in its stance over Kashmir. In such a situation what is the rationale behind giving them more and more concessions?" he told The Associated Press.