"The visit to Pakistan can push forward the peace process by leaps and bounds," said Maulana Abbas Ansari, who heads the moderate faction of Kashmir's main separatist alliance, the All Parties Hurriyat Conference.

"In Pakistan and its controlled Kashmir we can meet Mujahedin (holy warrior) leaders and try to persuade them to call for a ceasefire," he told AFP, referring to Islamic militants fighting against Indian rule in Kashmir.