Pakistan is willing to give up its claim to all of Kashmir if
India agrees to a far-reaching self-governance plan for the
Himalayan region divided between the longtime rivals, Pakistan
President General Pervez Musharraf suggested Tuesday.
While New Delhi and Islamabad have made scant public progress on
settling their dispute over Kashmir, officials on both sides
privately say advances have been made in so-called "back channel"
negotiations, most of them between retired officials from both
sides.
Musharraf's remarks Tuesday provided a snapshot of what an
eventual solution could look like.
He told the independent New Delhi Television that Pakistan would
agree to greater autonomy or self-governance for Kashmir with New
Delhi and Islamabad jointly supervising the region. Both India and
Pakistan claim all of predominantly Muslim Kashmir.
Asked if Pakistan was ready to give up its claim, Musharraf
responded: "We will have to... if this solution comes up."
The dispute over Kashmir lies at the heart of the rivalry
between the two nuclear-armed South Asian countries. Two of their
three wars since independence from Britain in 1947 have been fought
over Kashmir.
Musharraf said that if a solution is to be found, India and
Pakistan would have to make compromises and be prepared to give up
positions on Kashmir that they have held since 1948, the year their
dispute first flared into conflict.
"We are on the same position as we were since 1948," Musharraf
said. The two countries "ought to be prepared to give up all that
we have been saying," he said.
There was no immediate Indian reaction to Musharraf's
comments.
Pakistan Foreign Minister Khursheed Kasuri said last week that
"progress" on Kashmir had been made in back-channel talks.
The main features of the possible deal are believed to include
opening for travel and trade the heavily fortified frontier between
the Indian- and Pakistani-controlled parts of Kashmir and a
staggered withdrawal of troops from each side of the region. The
actual frontier which neither side recognizes as a legitimate
border would not change, and its final status would be left
undecided.
Mainstream separatist leaders in India's part of Kashmir, who
have long pushed for a political solution to the region's problems,
have in the past said they favor a plan along the lines outlined by
the unofficial talks. They also want India to declare a cease-fire
with the militants.
Accepting a plan like the one proposed by Musharraf would be a
major departure for both Pakistan and India.
Islamabad has previously insisted a referendum be held in all of
Kashmir to determine the region's future and whether the region
should be part of India or Pakistan.
New Delhi, meanwhile, says Kashmir is an integral part of India
and has resisted moves to redraw its borders.
In Tuesday's interview, Musharraf said Pakistan would give up
its demand for a plebiscite if India agreed to more autonomy for
its part of Kashmir.
(China Daily December 6, 2006)
