http://www.yahoo.com/headlines/current/news/stories/kashmir.html (Einblicke ins Internet, 10/1995)
SRINAGAR, India (Reuter) - Concern over the fate of four Westerners held hostage by guerrillas in Kashmir grew Saturday after Indian authorities failed to make headway in crucial talks with the militants, officials and diplomats said.
Officials said negotiations by radio late Friday brought the two sides no closer to an agreement that would lead to the release of the four tourists after eight weeks in captivity.
``Nothing is moving forward,'' an official who asked not to be identified said after the meeting. ``Al-Faran's attitude is hardening.''
Another radio contact was planned for Saturday, authorities said. Diplomats monitoring the negotiations said Saturday's talks could prove critical as Al-Faran militants appeared to be running out of patience.
Indian authorities have said talks are in a delicate phase and appealed to Al-Faran to spare the lives of American Donald Hutchings, German Dirk Hasert and Britons Keith Mangan and Paul Wells.
Army soldiers and paramilitary troopers Saturday imposed a brief curfew on three towns near the region where the tourists were abducted. The clamp-down on Anantnag, Bijbehara and Achhabal towns was lifted at about 11:30 a.m. (2 a.m. EDT), some four and a half hours after it was imposed.
All three towns are in the district where the tourists were abducted by Al-Faran militants.
Authorities did not say why the curfew was imposed or whether it was related to efforts to win the release of the captives.
The four foreign tourists were kidnapped in the Pahalgam Mountains 35 miles from Anantnag town, which is the headquarters of Anantnag administrative district.
Anantnag town is 33 miles from Srinagar, summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir state.
The government has said it does not want to carry out a raid in the remote Himalayan region to rescue the hostages as it could imperil their lives.
One official said negotiations were deadlocked as Al-Faran continued to insist that India release three jailed Pakistani militants, Masood Azhar, Sajjad Afghani and Mansoor Langriyal, belonging to the Harkat-ul-Ansar movement.
But during this week's talks, Indian negotiators repeated their refusal to free the Pakistanis.