Istanbul, Feb 27 (AP) Imprisoned Kurdish leader Abdullah Ocalan has called on his militant group to lay down its arms and dissolve as part of a bid to end a four-decade long conflict that has claimed tens of thousands of lives.

In a message from his prison on an island off Istanbul on Thursday, Ocalan said the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, should hold a congress and decide to disband.

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“Convene your congress and make a decision. All groups must lay their arms and the PKK must dissolve itself,” Ocalan, according to a message that was relayed by pro-Kurdish party politicians who visited Ocalan on Imrali island earlier in the day.

Ocalan's momentous announcement is part of a new effort for peace between the group and the Turkish state, that was initiated in October by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's coalition partner, Devlet Bahceli. The far-right politician suggested that Ocalan could be granted parole if his group renounces violence and disbands. (AP)

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(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)