A HUMAN rights group is poised to place an advertisement in Kashmiri newspapers calling for an end to the kidnapping of four westerners.

The Jammu Kashmir Human Rights Council also plan to release a statement condemning the hostage-taking on the day of Eid - which coincides with Blackburn student Paul Wells' 300th day in captivity.

Paul, 25, of Bracken Close, Feniscowles, Blackburn, Middlesbrough man Keith Mangan, German Dirk Hasert and American Donald Hutchings were captured by Al-Faran Kashmiri separatists exactly nine-months ago tomorrow.

The council have gathered together high-ranking members of the Kashmiri community to produce the ad, which will appear in the Kashmiri Times, The Daily Aftab, Srinagar Times and Chattam weekly newspaper.

The idea is supported by the general secretary of the Kashmiri Bar Council, an advocate of the High council of Kashmir and a lecturer from the University of Kashmir.

Council spokesman Nazir Gilani said: "To coincide with Eid, we will be asking the people of Jammu Kashmir not to forget the families of the hostages as they are celebrating.

"The newspaper advertisements will run in one week's time and will ask people to have sympathy with the families.

"We feel that foreign tourists should have the freedom to travel. This is a direct infringement of their human rights and we believe it has not done any good for the cause of the people of Kashmir."

Ongoing negotiations to free the hostages have been hampered by the current Indian elections.

A spokesman for the High Commission in New Delhi said efforts were achieving only minimal results as the authorities, hostage takers and political parties were concentrating on the polls.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.