Manmohan to meet pro-independence Kashmiri leader

The talks, at Singh's invitation, will take place in New Delhi on Saturday, newspapers said, quoting official sources.

The Kashmiri leader confirmed he would attend.

"The fact that the process has started is a victory in itself. There are bound to be problems and there are bound to be speed-breakers, but it has to go on," Lone was quoted as saying by newspapers.

The invitation follows Singh's decision to meet all Kashmiri separatists from the Indian-administered zone to try to end unrest in the region after an Islamic insurgency erupted in 1989. It has claimed at least 44,000 lives since then.

India accuses Pakistan of fomenting the insurgency in Kashmir, which has been the trigger of two of their three wars since 1947.

Pakistan denies the charge but admits extending moral, political and diplomatic support to Kashmiris waging what it terms a "freedom struggle".

India and Pakistan both claim the scenic Himalayan region in its entirety but administer it in part.