The third roundtable conference on Kashmir will be held in New Delhi within six months, and five working groups being constituted next week will be asked to submit their recommendations before that, according to an official source. Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad will next week visit New Delhi, where these working groups will be finalised and announced, the source said.

At this week's second roundtable in Srinagar Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had announced the constitution of five working groups to work towards finding a common ground in seeking a possible solution to the Kashmir issue that has been haunting the state for nearly six decades.

The Kashmir issue has proved to be a stumbling block in the state's path towards development and progress. The five groups are to devote their whole-hearted attention and time to making recommendations to set the pace of the next roundtable and ensure that its goals are achieved, the source said.

The groups are to primary deal with centre-state relations with regard to the special status of Jammu and Kashmir, strengthening of relations across the Line of Control (LoC) that divides Kashmir between India and Pakistan, economic development, good governance, and confidence building measures on Kashmir.

New Delhi, where the first roundtable was held on Feb 25, is the preferred venue from the security point of view. The May 24-25 roundtable had caused considerable inconvenience to the people of Srinagar and especially tourists, who were virtually made prisoners in their hotels during the period. (IANS)