Author:
Publication: The Indian
Express
Date: December 6, 2000
Pakistani military ruler
General Pervez Musharraf Wednesday demanded a response from Prime Minister
Atal Behari Vajpayee to Islamabad's latest offer of dialogue over Kashmir.
Otherwise the general
warned he would hold India responsible for ruining another peace bid in
the divided Himalayan state. "I expect the Indian Prime Minister
to decide on this offer, otherwise, obviously, I will presume that the
ball is entirely in their court," Musharraf was quoted as saying by the
state-run Associated Press of Pakistan.
"Any progress on the
issue of a peaceful dialogue on Kashmir, if it fails again, the window
of opportunity which again was there, I will consider that it was frustrated
by the Indian side."
Musharraf said he was
"a little disappointed" over comments from an Indian foreign ministry official
Tuesday ruling out tripartite talks between India, the Kashmiri leadership
and Pakistan. "I am still not closing the door entirely, maybe a
more senior position's response should come because this is a very serious
issue to which I have responded," he said.
Indian foreign ministry
official Raminder Singh Jassal on Tuesday welcomed Pakistan's offer of
military de-escalation on the disputed Kashmir border but said peace talks
with Islamabad were impossible for the time being.
"The modalities of these
talks will be decided by the government of India. It is abundantly
clear that there is no room for what are termed as tripartite talks," Jassal
said.
"We expect Pakistan to
address our concerns and also those of the international community about
cross-border terrorism, infiltration into India, and aiding and abetment
of violence." Pakistani foreign office spokesman Riaz Mohammad Khan told
AFP it was too early to comment on Jassal's remarks, which would appear
to ruin any chance that the latest peace initiatives in Kashmir will bear
fruit.
"We have to see what
he really said and receive something from our embassy before we can make
a comment," he said. Pakistan said Saturday it would show "maximum
restraint" along the tense unofficial border in Kashmir and invite the
leading Kashmiri separatist alliance to facilitate three-way talks through
separate discussions in Islamabad and New Delhi.
It was Pakistan's long-awaited
response to India's unilateral ceasefire to militant Muslim separatist
groups during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, which started last week
but has been marred by violence.
Most militant groups
fighting against Indian rule in Kashmir have rejected New Delhi's ceasefire
and said their rebellion would not end until India agrees to meaningful
tripartite talks. A unilateral ceasefire offer in July from the Hizbul
Mujahideen, Kashmir's most powerful armed separatist group, collapsed after
two weeks when India refused its demand for three-way dialogue.
