NEW DELHI, 6 December 2006 — Pakistan would give up its claim to Kashmir if India agreed to give the disputed Himalayan territory autonomy under the joint supervision of both countries, President Pervez Musharraf has said.
India did not respond directly to the proposal, which Musharraf has floated several times in the past, but said it could be discussed as part of a slow-moving peace process.
In an interview with Indian news channel NDTV, Musharraf reiterated a phased plan to solve the decades-old dispute over Kashmir, proposals he also spelled out in his recent memoirs “In the Line of Fire.”
Asked if Pakistan would give up its claim to Kashmir if India agreed to implement this plan, Musharraf said: “We will have to... Yes ... If this solution comes up,” according to a statement from NDTV. “I’m not giving up... at all ... but one is prepared to give up, in case India leaves its stated position also,” he added later when pressed.
First, Musharraf wants India and Pakistan to focus on the parts of the former princely state of Kashmir that are genuinely disputed by both sides, according to details of a plan he has discussed in the past.
For example, Pakistan might give up any claim to the mainly Hindu Jammu region and the largely Buddhist region of Ladakh, if India renounced its claim to the overwhelmingly Muslim areas of Gilgit and Baltistan currently ruled by Pakistan.
That would leave a majority Muslim region centered on the Kashmir Valley, most of which is now under Indian control but a part of which is ruled by Pakistan.
The Kashmir Valley is also the center of a 17-year insurgency against Indian rule which has been backed by Pakistan.
The two sides would then soften the border dividing Kashmir until it became “irrelevant,” so that people and goods could move freely. A phased demilitarization would follow on both sides of the current Line of Control dividing Kashmir. Autonomy or self-governance would then be offered to Kashmiris, under the joint supervision of the two countries.
“This is a serious matter and cannot be discussed before the media,” said Anand Sharma, India’s junior Foreign Minister.
Foreign ministers of the two countries are due to hold talks next month and could discuss the proposals, he said.
