India, Pakistan 'nearing' solution, says Musharraf

By B. Muralidhar Reddy

ISLAMABAD, MARCH 13. Pakistan's military ruler, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, has said that India and Pakistan are nearing a ``solution'' to the Kashmir dispute, and that India would come to the negotiating table very soon.

Addressing the annual luncheon meeting of the Council of Pakistan Newspaper Editors (CPNE) conference in Lahore yesterday, Gen. Musharraf said, ``the Indian Prime Minister seems willing to resolve the dispute. We are nearing a solution as the SAARC has been made effective again.''

Mr. Hamid Mir, editor of the Urdu daily Ausauf, told The Hindu that ``he (Gen. Musharraf) was very assertive about his contention. It came as a bit of surprise to us especially coming as it did a day after his hour- long interaction with the United Nations Secretary-General, Mr. Kofi Annan.''

The Chief Executive did refer to the Lahore Declaration but not the kind of reference Mr. Annan would have perhaps liked. Gen. Musharraf said the Lahore Declaration was not ``enough'' to resolve the Kashmir dispute and that the ball was in India's court.

Gen. Musharraf told the gathering that the conditions for resolving the dispute were never as conducive as they were today. ``I hope a dialogue in this regard would soon be initiated. The whole world is talking about the dispute,'' he said adding Pakistan had succeeded in internationalising the issue.

The Chief Executive claimed that his government had added a new dimension, making the Kashmir problem a people's issue instead of a territorial dispute between the two countries. ``Nobody is telling Pakistan to stop terrorism. The Government has made it clear that it is not terrorism, rather an indigenous struggle of the people of Kashmir, who want right to self- determination. We have made it clear even to the former U.S. President, Mr. Bill Clinton. No U.S. official now talks about terrorism.''

Term to be extended

UNI reports:

In another development, Gen. Musharraf has proposed to extend by one year, his term as the Chief of the Army Staff (COAS), and also effect a shake-up in the Army top brass. The General is expected to announce the promotion of two senior lieutenant generals as full generals and appoint them as the Chairman, Joint Chief of Staff Committee (CJCSC) and Vice-Chief of the Army Staff (VCOAS), The News reported today.

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Section  : Front Page
Previous : Panic on Dalal Street
Next     : PM orders probe into 'burning' of Quran