ISLAMABAD, 9 June 2005 — Indian Kashmiri separatist leaders indicated yesterday they might abandon their 57-year-old stance on holding a referendum in the divided Himalayan region after meeting Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf. Mirwaiz Umar Farooq of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference, an umbrella group of some two dozen parties, said a solution could emerge from outside a series of decades-old United Nations resolutions calling for a plebiscite.

Until now the separatists have always backed the resolutions, which were adopted from 1948 onward, as the only acceptable path to end the bitter dispute over the scenic territory.

“It looks as if we are moving toward a negotiated settlement. We have to move from our traditional positions,” Farooq said after a group of moderate separatists met Musharraf late Tuesday.

The Hurriyat leaders are making an unprecedented visit to the Pakistani side of the border as part of a peace process launched between Pakistan and India last year.

“We support the step by step strategy and we understand that a solution to the problem cannot be found in one go. We are very hopeful after meeting with Musharraf.”

Kashmir is divided between Pakistan and India and is claimed by both in full. It has caused two of the three wars between the nuclear-armed neighbors since their independence from Britain in 1947.

The UN resolutions were passed shortly afterward, calling for a plebiscite in the whole of Kashmir, which could lead to the state either joining Pakistan or India. There is no independence option. India, however, insists the resolutions have become irrelevant; a view shared by most major powers.

Official media quoted Musharraf as saying after the meeting that Pakistan would not accept the status quo in Kashmir and would continue its efforts to seek a solution in line with the aspiration of the people of Kashmir.

“We talked about different proposals. It was a very productive meeting,” Hurriyat leader Farooq said without elaborating. “We agreed on two things, that the status quo is unacceptable and the Line of Control cannot be made a permanent border.”

Pakistan Information Minister Sheikh Rashid said yesterday he had applied for a permit to travel to his ancestral home in Indian Kashmir on a new bus service, the first visit of its kind by a senior Islamabad official.

Rashid, a native Kashmiri, said he planned to be on the June 30 bus.