Search the Internet          Tips

Musharraf harps on Kashmir in Washington

TV Parasuram in Washington

Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf has stressed that in order to have peace in South Asia, it was indispensable to resolve the Kashmir issue through outside mediation.

Speaking at a meeting organised by the Wilson Centre, part of the Congressionally funded Smithsonian Institution, and the Carnegie Endowment for Peace, a prestigious non-governmental organisation, on Tuesday night, Musharraf claimed that it was now being widely recognised that Kashmir was the 'core dispute' between India and Pakistan.

Referring to the current stand off with India, the Pakistani president said, "The present tension and escalation and tension is not from our side, it is from India... we have reacted."

He said, "Though the Simla Agreement calls for bilateral resolution of disputes, 'bilateralism' has failed, and therefore, I believe there is a requirement of mediation or facilitation in resolving the disputes between India and Pakistan."

Musharraf said that Pakistan wants peace in the south Asian region, where many countries are facing abject poverty and backwardness, and this called for addressing all issues between India and Pakistan including the 'Kashmir dispute'.

"If we think peace can be brought about by addressing all (other) issues and sideline Kashmir, it is foolish. It cannot happen," he said, adding it was this 'core' issue over which 'Pakistan and India have fought so many wars and over which even now today there is tension on the borders'.

Musharraf said, "Pakistan or Pakistanis do get emotionally involved with Muslim causes around the world."

But he added, "We are not religious extremists; we are moderates; we are religious all right; our concerns are over-involvement or involvement with Kashmir and our concerns with India -- this is what regulates attitudes and behaviour of the Pakistanis."

Musharraf said he went to Agra with all sincerity and open-mindedness, and claimed that the two sides even reached the formulation of a declaration, which addressed and accepted the centrality of Kashmir for bringing peace between India and Pakistan.

"Nevertheless, it got scuttled. A hall, a table and two chairs were ready for the signing ceremony and the draft declaration was formulated and yet it got scuttled by the Indian leadership. We need to move forward on that," he said.

Alleging that India had used the December 13 attack on the Parliament as an excuse for massing of troops along its borders with Pakistan, Musharraf said the attack was 'condemned', but it 'cannot be used as an excuse for brinkmanship'.

He said that although India may not intend to indulge in any act of aggression right now, the large-scale deployment of its forces raised suspicions and could anytime lead to a confrontation.

"We expect sincerity and purposeful negotiations from India to move forward to resolving the Kashmir dispute and all other issues bedevilling our relationship, as an unpopular imposition of an unpopular and unworkable solution will remain untenable", Musharraf added.

Musharraf said this situation needs to be eased and expressed his 'special gratitude' to the personal diplomacy of US Secretary of State Colin Powell to bring about easing of tensions between India and Pakistan.

When a member of the audience noted that he is 'the same Musharraf' who initiated the Kargil War after Lahore peace process, the Pakistan president said: "Why not start with Siachen and East Pakistan?"

"One must not go back into history," he said, "because history has been a bitter one. One has to look forward. I want to look to peace for the future. I am a military man and sometimes military men understand wars more than civilians understand. Maybe I am the right man for peace. I look for peace."

Musharraf said that under present circumstances, both India and Pakistan have to realise that even a non-nuclear war is a very expensive undertaking and should not be initiated. Both India and Pakistan are poverty-stricken and both are going for economic development.

"Therefore, I would say that India and Pakistan ought to act responsibly on the issue of war. The initiation of a nuclear conflict is, of course, unthinkable by both countries."

He said: "We should not have bloodshed. I agree we are continuously fighting and there is killing going on in the Line of Control almost every day. We are confronting at the Siachen Glacier at height of 20,000 feet in an unimaginable setting there. What is the solution? I have given the solution. We ought to sit down and talk through a dialogue; we need to address all issues, and the main issue in all issues is the Kashmir dispute. If anyone denies that Kashmir is the main dispute, he is just being insincere."

Musharraf said that everyone in India recognises that.

Tell us what you think of this report