SRINAGAR, 19 August — Kashmir Committee leader and Rajya Sabha MP Ram Jethmalani yesterday urged for a postponement of the September-October assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir to allow "wider participation".

"A majority of the persons and groups who met us here demanded that the elections be postponed in the state to allow wider participation," Jethmalani told reporters here at the end of a three-day visit.

"The demand is not unreasonable. The Election Commission has to take a decision (on this issue)."

Jethmalani, a former law minister, admitted he was disappointed because his group could not persuade the All Parties Hurriyat Conference to participate in the elections to the 87-seat Jammu and Kashmir Assembly.

Jethmalani’s delegation included former law minister and Supreme Court advocate Shanti Bushan and newspaper editors M.J. Akbar and Dileep Padgaonkar. "But talks with the Hurriyat will continue even after the elections." Jethmalani claimed "several groups", including former militant Imran Rahi’s, had promised to join the polls. A former assembly speaker sacked from Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah’s National Conference (NC) was launching a party to contest the elections, he said. "This is a big success. We have succeeded in our mission of securing their participation in the elections."

The Kashmir Committee leader also appealed to the people of the state to join the elections for "prosperity and stability". "Elections will be free and fair and the security forces will only ensure safety of the voters who wish to vote."

Although Jethmalani announced his Kashmir initiative on his own, he reportedly has the blessing of Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani, who authorized him to extend an "open invitation" to the Hurriyat for talks.

Jethmalani held talks with separatist leader Shabir Shah soon after reaching here on Friday. Shah later said he accepted the offer of talks with the government.

M.J. Akbar, editor of the Asian Age newspaper, and a member of the committee said that Shah was willing to take part in upcoming elections in Kashmir provided they are linked to seeking a permanent solution to the Kashmir problem, the committee said yesterday.

The Kashmir Committee also called on Hurriyat executive council at its headquarters here Saturday and tried to convince them to contest the elections. The group did not agree.

Electoral officials were due to arrive here yesterday to assess the readiness of Kashmir for polls next month.

Jethmalani’s initiative coincides with talks between another former law minister, Arun Jaitley, and the National Conference on the demand for greater autonomy for the state.

In what analysts regard as a breakthrough, however, the Hurriyat said it had agreed to hold a second round of talks in New Delhi.

If they make good their pledge, it would mark the first time separatist leaders have traveled to New Delhi for talks on Kashmir with a committee that has the backing of the government. Analyst Mahesh Rangarajan said the meeting in Srinagar was "very significant, a positive development."

Troops overnight killed seven militants near the de facto India-Pakistan border in Kashmir while they were trying to infiltrate into the Indian zone, police said yesterday.

Elsewhere in the state, eight other people were killed in various incidents since late Saturday, police said.