Pant keeps his date with G. M. Shah

By Vinay Kumar

SRINAGAR, MAY 31. The Centre's interlocutor on Kashmir, Mr. K.C. Pant, today visited Kargil and also kept his date with the Awami National Conference president and former Chief Minister, Mr. G.M. Shah.

Mr. Pant's keenly awaited 40-minute meeting with Mr. Shah at the latter's heavily guarded Maulana Azad Road residence turned out to be a damp squib. It was clear the two leaders did not hit it off well as Mr. Shah made no effort to hide his displeasure over the remark of the External Affairs Minister, Mr. Jaswant Singh, that Jammu and Kashmir remained an integral part of India. The meeting could not be held on Wednesday as Mr. Pant's return from Leh was delayed by more than two hours.

After the meeting, Mr. Shah told mediapersons: ``Mr. Jaswant Singh has already made the statement on Jammu and Kashmir being an integral part of India. What talks can be held when there are such statements being made from New Delhi? We will talk to one who admits that Kashmir is a problem.''

Outlining his party's approach, the former Chief Minister said he favoured tripartite talks involving India, Pakistan and the people of Kashmir. ``All solutions are there, only the three parties have to sit together and find one.''

Mr. Shah said past efforts to have bilateral talks with Pakistan had failed and cited examples of the Nehru-Liaqat, Indira Gandhi- Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, Rajiv Gandhi-Benazir Bhutto, and Vajpayee- Nawaz Sharif meetings. ``As long as the three parties do not hammer out a solution, Kashmir will be caught in the proxy war which will turn into a regular war and then into a nuclear war,'' the ANC leader said.

Even as Mr. Shah put across his views, Mr. Pant remained composed and said Mr. Shah was a veteran politician fully conversant with the constitutional and legal issues. ``I have taken note of Mr. Shah's opinion. So many others have also expressed such opinion. This is only the beginning of a process. We are not going to find a solution overnight, the problem is complex and dialogue is the need of the hour. Trust has to be carefully built upon,'' he said.

In Kargil, Mr. Pant met representatives of a cross- section of political parties, religious bodies and associations. The overwhelming opinion was that the people wanted to be part and parcel of the State and were totally against any division.

Prominent among those who met Mr. Pant were the National Conference Lok Sabha member, Mr. Ghulam Hassan Khan, the party MLA, Mr. Mohammad Abbas, chief patron of the Imam Khomeini Memorial Trust, Sheikh Mohammad Hussain Zakiri, and representatives of the Ladakh Buddhist Association of Zanskar and the Congress.

Mr. Ghulam Hassan, who vehemently opposed the demand for a Union Territory status for Ladakh, described it as an attempt to divide the State on communal lines.

Later talking to reporters, Mr. Pant said that from his discussions with various groups in Kargil it was clear that the people were keen on a rapid pace of development. ``The Kargil war made people aware of the hard conditions of life in the region. Almost all groups who met me want completion of the runway of the airport, adequate water and power supply and boost to the tourism sector.'' In Leh yesterday, Mr. Pant was greeted by a number of demonstrators supporting the grant of the Union Territory status to Leh. Mr. Pant is scheduled to leave for Jammu tomorrow.

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