New Delhi, Feb 25, SPA -- Prime Minister Manmohan Singh openedtalks Saturday with representatives from Kashmir, the Associated Press reported. The meeting was an attempt to tackle the long-standingdispute over Indian-controlled Kashmir, where a separatistIslamic insurgency since 1989 has killed more than 67,000people. "This is a dialogue of equals who promise to worktogether," Singh said at the closed-door talks, accordingto a statement from his office. The one-day meeting brought together rival politicalparties and representatives of different ethnic andregional groups mostly content with Indian rule, but theAll Party Hurriyat Conference _ an umbrella body ofseparatist groups _ refused to attend. "This is an attempt to hoodwink the internationalcommunity and especially to show the United States andPresident (George W.) Bush that the Indians are keen on the(peace) process. The reality is something different," saidSyed Ali Shah Geelani, head of the Hurriyat Conference. Omar Abdullah, the head of Kashmir's mainopposition National Conference party, said the boycott bythe separatists was "a setback." "The dispute is between New Delhi and the separatists.The separatist are important in Jammu and Kashmir and theprime minister should start new efforts to talk to them,"Abdullah told reporters before the meeting.--SPA 13 01 Local Time 10 01 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/334306