J A M M U   &   K A S H M I R

USA, Russia hail ceasefire offer
NEW DELHI, Dec 21 — The extension of the ceasefire offer of Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee by another month has been acclaimed internationally with both Washington and Moscow welcoming it.

• Peace process a ‘two-way affair’
  (Haryana page)
  

Four nominated to Ladakh council
JAMMU, Dec 21 — The Jammu and Kashmir Government today nominated four members to the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council, Leh district. This has been done in pursuance of Sub-section 2 of Sub-section 4 of the Jammu and Kashmir Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council Act in 1997.

USA, Russia hail ceasefire offer
Tribune News Service

NEW DELHI, Dec 21 — The extension of the ceasefire offer of Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee by another month has been acclaimed internationally with both Washington and Moscow welcoming it.

While the US President, Mr Bill Clinton, described Mr Vajpayee’s announcement made yesterday in both Houses of Parliament as “an important step forward”, the Russian Foreign Ministry said today that “Moscow has evaluated with satisfaction the statement of Prime Minister of India Atal Behari Vajpayee regarding the continuation of the moratorium on actions of the Indian security forces in Kashmir, first announced during the Ramzan”.

“I welcome today’s announcements by both India and Pakistan aimed at reducing tensions in Kashmir”, Mr Clinton said yesterday adding that “the decision by Prime Minister Vajpayee that India will continue the ceasefire it initiated last month in Kashmir is an important step”.

Meanwhile, the Russian Foreign Ministry also welcomed Mr Vajpayee’s reiteration of India’s adherence to the Shimla Agreement and the Lahore understanding.

In a statement, Moscow said that “it has not gone unnoticed in Russia that the November initiative of New Delhi has been positively received by the population and the political parties of Jammu and Kashmir”.

“In our opinion these may be emerging favourable pre-conditions for the renewal of India-Pakistan political dialogue with the objective of reducing tensions and establishing an atmosphere of trust in South Asia”, the statement asserted.

In a parallel development, Tunisia also welcomed the Indian initiative of a ceasefire saying that this “gesture of goodwill permit to resume negotiations between all parties involved to achieve a lasting solution to this issue in conformity with the Agreement of Simla and the spirit of the Declaration of Lahore”.

Four nominated to Ladakh council

JAMMU, Dec 21 (PTI) — The Jammu and Kashmir Government today nominated four members to the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LADHC), Leh district.

This has been done in pursuance of Sub-section 2 of Sub-section 4 of the Jammu and Kashmir Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council Act in 1997.

Those nominated included Spalzes Angmo of Leh, Rigzin Spaldon of Stakna, Ghulam Abbas Abidi of Thiksey and Mohammad Sadiq of Leh, a government notification said here. There are 26 elected and four nominated members in the 30-member LADHC.