JEDDAH, 11 December 2006 — A spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Islamabad said some newspapers gave misleading headlines to President Pervez Musharraf’s interview ran by an Indian television channel.
“The headlines gave the impression that President Musharraf made a U-turn on Kashmir policy. This is misleading and incorrect,” the spokesperson said.
Referring to Musharraf’s interview to NDTV, the spokesperson said the president called for flexibility on both sides for a negotiated settlement of the Kashmir dispute. “What he said was that Pakistan is ready to show flexibility provided India did the same. It was only through reciprocal flexibility that a negotiated settlement, acceptable to all sides, was possible.
“There is no change in Pakistan’s position on Kashmir. The president only reiterated the well-known view that in step with India, Pakistan is willing to be flexible in pursuit of an acceptable negotiated settlement. In the NDTV interview, he again referred to ideas that have been discussed in the past and have found resonance and evoked keen interest among Kashmiris,” the spokesperson said.
