"The winds of change are blowing in the state. The moderates have taken over the Hurriyat Conference. Though we cannot be over-optimistic, things are much better than before," Sinha was quoted as saying by the Press Trust of India.

Moulvi Abbas Ansari, the 65-year-old head of the Ithadul Muslimeen separatist group, earlier this month became the first Shiite Muslim to lead the All Parties Hurriyat Conference, Kashmir's main separatist alliance.

After taking over, Ansari recently said India, Pakistan and representatives of the Kashmiri people could end the bitter ownership dispute over the region without the help of other countries such as the United States.

Previous Hurriyat leaders have urged for US mediation, but Ansari said it would show that India and Pakistan were "impotent" and unable to resolve their issues.

Sinha also said the statements made by a visiting leader of Pakistan's radical Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI) Islamic party that Islamabad and New Delhi could resolve the Kashmir issue on their own showed greater desire for peace.

"We also have to take note of the visit of the founder of Taliban (Jamiat-Ulema Islam Chief Fazal-ur Rahman) and his statements regarding resolution of Kashmir issue through talks," he said.

"This reflects the change that is taking place."

The call from JUI chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman was a reversal of the hardline party's previous stand that there was little scope for bilateral negotiations over Kashmir between the two South Asian nuclear rivals.

JUI has in the past called for third-party mediation in the dispute, which led to two of the three wars between India and Pakistan since 1947, without naming a preferred arbitrator.

Sinha added the tourist flow to the scenic Himalayan region this year was almost double that of last year.

But he added that incidents of violence were still continuing and on an average 10 people were being killed daily, including security personnel, civilians and militants.

More than 38,000 people have died in the insurgency since 1989, according to Indian figures, while Pakistan and separatists claim the true figure is twice as high.

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