Indian Deputy Prime Minister Lal Krishna Advani, who led the government officials into the discussions, later said the APHC leaders would pay a courtesy call on Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee on Friday.
"It was agreed that the only way forward is to ensure that all forms of violence at all levels should come to an end," a joint statement issued after two-and-a-half-hour of talks between Advani and five leaders of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference said."It was (also) agreed that today's meeting was the first significant step in the dialogue process initiated by the Government of India and a step-by-step approach would lead to resolution of all outstanding issues relating to occupied Kashmir.
"The deputy prime minister endorsed (Hurriyat's) view that the role of the gun should be replaced by the sound of politics," it said.
Advani also said New Delhi would study the Hurriyat's longstanding demand for the release of political prisoners in occupied Kashmir.
"I have said that cases of prisoners would be reviewed. Those accused of heinous crimes would not be considered but others, yes," he said.
Advani was non-committal on whether the Hurriyat leaders reiterated their demand that they should also be allowed to go to Pakistan for talks.
"I don't think I should quote what they said in the two-and-a-half-hours. The synopsis is fairly reflected in the joint statement," he said.
Hurriyat Chairman Maulana Abbas Ansari, who led the APHC team in talks, had, ahead of the meeting, warned against expectations of quick results.
"Things do not happen with just a snap of the fingers and so we have to work hard," Ansari told AFP earlier.
But he added that he was going into the meeting with an open mind towards discussions over occupied Kashmir.
Besides Ansari, other members of the team were Umar Farooq and Abdul Ghani Bhat, both former Hurriyat chiefs, low-profile leader Fazal Haque Qureshi, and Bilal Lone, the elder son of assassinated leader Abdul Ghani Lone.
Thursday's talks mark the first official contact between the two sides since August 2000 when senior commanders of Hizbul Mujahideen met top home ministry officials.
A senior Kashmiri leader on Thursday said India may halt security operations in occupied Kashmir by early next month, following landmark talks with Indian deputy prime minister.
Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, who took part in the talks, said after the meeting that the cease-fire would coincide with Eid-ul-Azha.
"We expressed our desire that the government should halt the continued operations against civilians, including cordon and search and other such actions," he told the Press Trust of India (PTI).
"A decision is expected during the Eid festival scheduled in the first week of the next month."
He said Indian Deputy Prime Minister Lal Krishna Advani had told them that he could not take a decision on halting operations against the freedom fighters without consulting the army and other security agencies.
"When the cease-fire has brought such a relief in the border areas of the state, such a move in the state will definitely bring a great amount of relief to the people in the Valley," Mirwaiz said.
Quoting sources, PTI said, the government might consider steps such as ordering security forces to attack only if attacked.
Mirwaiz also said that Advani was "not averse" to the freedom fighters request for a meeting with the Pakistani officials.
The talks come at a time of damaging division between Hurriyat factions.
In September, the rival faction expressed no confidence in Ansari and declared the staunchly pro-Pakistan Syed Ali Geelani as their leader.
Geelani's faction claims they are the real Hurriyat and oppose two-way talks between Indians and Kashmiris, saying Pakistan needs to be included in the process.
But while the Ansari-led faction does not enjoy the support of all the freedom fighters opposed to Indian occupation of Kashmir, many Kashmiris who want to see an end to violence have welcomed the talks, saying the two sides have for the first time in 15 years broken ice and moved forward.