JAKARTA, 23 April 2005 — In the most optimistic assessment yet of the India-Pakistan peace process, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said yesterday that “if allowed to go forward” it could help in the “final settlement” of the Kashmir dispute.
“I really believe that if this process is allowed to go forward, it will create a climate conducive to reach a final settlement,” the prime minister said on arriving at Asian-African summit.
Manmohan, however, said it was not possible to put a time frame for arriving at a settlement. “I really don’t know today. It is a process. I can’t lay down a timetable, where will it lead us or when it will bear fruits.”
“But I am convinced this is the way of looking at the problem thus creating a situation where there are no losers, no winners. The only gainers will be the people of Jammu and Kashmir and the prospects of reconciliation between the people of India and the people of Pakistan,” he added.
Asked about the reference to “soft borders” by both himself and Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf during the latter’s visit to India, Manmohan said India and Pakistan have to tackle the Kashmir problem from a “different perspective”.
“Territorial disputes cannot be resolved overnight. They take time,” he said. But he said there was “a lot” India and Pakistan could do together by focusing on the interests of the people of Jammu and Kashmir living on both sides of the Line of Control (LOC) so that they can “lead a life of dignity and self-respect”.
“We can create an environment of freer trade, freer movement, thereby the development process on both sides can improve,” he said. He said though the last few weeks had been hectic with the visits of Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and Musharraf, the visits had produced “solid results”.
Wen’s visit led to both countries agreeing to a political settlement of their boundary question and putting an end to the controversy over Sikkim’s status, with the Chinese leader declaring the former Himalayan kingdom as an integral part of India.
“We agreed that the delineation of the LAC (Line of Actual Control) should be accelerated,” Manmohan said, adding: “I am confident that our relations will take a new turn for the better.”
Meanwhile, External Affairs Minister Natwar Singh met Nepal’s King Gyanendra on the fringes of the summit here yesterday and pushed for a restoration of democracy in the Himalayan kingdom.
The encounter was a prelude to a meeting between Manmohan and Gyanendra, also expected during the summit. During the “cordial” 45-minute meeting, Gyanendra “explained the circumstances” that led him to dismiss the four-party coalition government, an Indian government statement said.
The king also said he was “greatly looking forward” to meeting Manmohan. Meanwhile, Manmohan was quoted by the Press Trust of India as saying: “If I get an opportunity, I will meet the king and convey India’s concerns.”
He added that “the two countries should return to the process of close consultation” enjoyed before the Nepalese king sacked the government. “We believe that constitutional monarchy and multiparty democracy were the two pillars of Nepal’s polity,” he said.
Natwar welcomed the release of some political leaders and the announcement of municipal elections. But he also “urged that a process of reconciliation” be initiated between political parties and the monarchy leading to a return to multiparty democracy in Nepal.
