A welcome half-step, says Sattar

By B. Muralidhar Reddy

ISLAMABAD, DEC. 5. The Pakistan Foreign Minister, Mr. Abdul Sattar, today dubbed the Indian initiative on Kashmir a ``welcome half- step'' and said the question of a permanent ceasefire on the Line of Control depended on the prospect of successful negotiations starting in the near future.

Speaking on the state-controlled Pakistan Television (PTV) the Minister said it would be better if India decided to end its ``military operations'' in Kashmir permanently. ``It's a welcome half-step. It would be far better if instead of just merely prolonging the suspension, the Prime Minister of India had decided to terminate the military operations once and for all.''

Mr. Sattar said Mr. A.B. Vajpayee should have commented on the Pakistani offer of a process leading to a Pakistan-India dialogue for the settlement of the Kashmir question in conformity with the wishes of the people of Jammu and Kashmir.

In an interview to a foreign agency, Mr. Sattar was quoted as saying that ``Pakistan's own offer to exercise maximum restraint in order to stabilise the ceasefire on the LoC is not limited in terms of duration. We would like to cooperate in ensuring the stability of that ceasefire permanently.''

The Minister said that for the objective to be achieved it was necessary that the efforts succeeded in bringing an end to violence in Kashmir and in promoting a settlement of the Kashmir question.

Denies

In another development, a Pakistan Foreign Office spokesperson denied there was a shift or softening of stand by Pakistan on the Kashmir issue. Such an impression seems to have been created after a foreign agency on Monday evening put out a report suggesting that there was a significant shift in the Pakistan's Kashmir policy.

The agency substantiated its report on the basis of the quote from an official in the Foreign Office that Islamabad would not have any objection if the APHC were to have separate parleys with the India. Perhaps the Pakistani authorities took note of the report when Indian television networks began splashing it in a big way.

Actually the position vis-a-vis the tripartite dialogue was articulated very clearly in the statement read out by the Pakistan Foreign Secretary, Mr. Inamul Haq, on Saturday. The formulation of Pakistan had envisaged the APHC talking separately to the Indian and Pakistani Governments. The second and the crucial element of the formulation is that separate negotiations should lead to a tripartite dialogue.

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