Pak. harps on 'centrality of Kashmir'

By B. Muralidhar Reddy

ISLAMABAD, JULY 8. With six days left for the Indo-Pak. summit at Agra, the military establishment here continues to harp on the theme ``centrality of Kashmir'' to improvement in ties between the two countries.

This was the central message that emerged at the end of a five- hour meeting, chaired by the Pakistan military ruler and President, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, on Saturday with a group of former Foreign Ministers, retired Generals and experts on South Asian affairs.

The mood in the Pakistani establishment was evident from an official statement summing up the deliberations of the meeting. It said the speakers at the conference endorsed the President's ``consistent and principled policy regarding Pakistan-India relations'' and, in particular, the core issue of Kashmir, which they described as ``the heart of the problem''.

Gen. Musharraf reiterated that while he was proceeding to New Delhi with an ``open mind'', he was firm in his belief about the centrality of the issue of Kashmir.

He expressed the confidence that given a similar realisation in India, the summit would help initiate the process of leading to the resolution of the Kashmir issue. Among those who attended the meeting included five former Foreign Ministers, six retired service chiefs and several other experts.

At the same time, Pakistan is seen to send a message to New Delhi that its stand on Hurriyat and on the centrality of Kashmir should be no cause for any apprehensions in India.

`Summit won't be cancelled'

Quoting sources in the military government, the daily Dawn has ruled out the possibility of the summit being cancelled as a result of the rift over Pakistan's decision to invite the Hurriyat leaders.

The paper quoted unnamed officials in the government as saying that the controversy over the invitation to the Hurriyat leaders to a reception being hosted in honour of Gen. Musharraf by the Pakistan High Commissioner in New Delhi should not be allowed to spoil the pre-summit atmosphere. It said both the countries were not prepared to hold the summit hostage to the controversy.

``A lot has gone into the preparation of the summit, and a lot is at stake for both sides. We do acknowledge the centrality of the Kashmiris to the final solution to the Kashmir problem, however there is no evidence, either from our side or from India, that the meeting between the two leaders can be held hostage to this controversy,'' the paper quoted the official as saying.

The official told the paper that ``Islamabad is keen on a meeting between Gen. Musharraf with the All-Party Hurriyat Conference in Delhi, but a successful summit with the Indian Prime Minister, Mr. Atal Behari Vajpayee, is at present its prime concern''.

The official has denied that at any stage Pakistan intended to score a point against India by extending an invitation to the APHC. ``Let us get our facts right. The invitation to the APHC is for a meeting over tea. It is not a structured dialogue where issues will be debated methodically. President Musharraf has returned a courtesy of writing to the APHC for he had received a letter from them. Now India is the host country. We hope that they would play the good hosts, but if they chose not to, the summit meeting will still take place,'' he said.

On the criticism of some APHC leaders that Pakistan has ditched them, the official said all such talk was senseless. ``We have stood by them through thick and thin. There is no such thing as anyone being ditched''.

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