WASHINGTON-While President Barack Obama held talks with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Kashmiris and Sikhs gathered in front of the White House on Tuesday to protest New Delhis repression in the Indian-occupied Kashmir and Punjab. Hundreds of Kashmiri men, women and children living in Washington metro area staged a peace rally to press their demands for a resolution of the decades-old Kashmir dispute. The participants carried anti-India placards reminding the world of the urgency to help resolve the Kashmir conflict. They urged President Obama to persuade New Delhi towards resolution of the lingering Jammu and Kashmir dispute and fulfil his 2008 election campaign pledge. The participants urged an end to human rights abuses in the heavily militarised Indian Kashmir. Dr Ghulam Nabi Fai, Exective Director of the Kashmiri-American Council, emphasised that the Kashmir dispute remains key to long-term stability in South Asia. He pointed out that this fact about the centrality of Kashmir resolution to South Asian peace has been recognised by all fair-minded and objective international security and political affairs experts. 'Kashmir is one of the oldest disputes recognised by the UN but the Indian leaders dont want the US President to talk about it and our peace rally is meant to draw attention to the urgent need for efforts toward a fair settlement, Dr Fai added. 'Kashmir is recognised by the UN as a disputed territory whose status is yet to be determined by its people, he said. Fais Washington-based organisation published a message saying the unresolved Kashmir dispute is a rebuke to the international community for its inaction. 'The United States paved the way for freedom around the world and the United States can help the people of Kashmir achieve peace, freedom and self-determination. 'Now is the time for President Obama to listen to Candidate Obama who said on September 25, 2008, 'I will continue support of ongoing Indian, Pakistani efforts to resolve Kashmir problem in order to address the political roots of the arms race between India and Pakistan. 'And on October 23, 2008, he said 'Working with Pakistan and India to try to resolve, and Kashmir, crisis in a serious way. Those are all critical tasks for the next administration. Kashmir in particular is an interesting situation where that is obviously a potential tar pit diplomatically. But, for us to devote serious diplomatic resources to get a special envoy in there, to figure out a plausible approach, and essentially make the argument to the Indians, you guys are on the brink of being an economic superpower, why do you want to keep on messing with this?. Meanwhile, Sikh gurdawaras and organisations took out an advertisement in the The Washington Times that focused on human rights violations in Punjab and sought Obama administrations help in ending the Indian repression.