Author: Press Trust of India
Publication: Expressindia.com
Date: June 30, 2006
URL: http://www.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=70238
Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf has stepped
up rhetoric on Kashmir after a long gap by telling India that he might revert
to the demand of third party intervention if his proposals of demilitarisation
and self-governance in the region were not considered "positively"
to resolve the issue.
Musharraf also said that his tenure offered
best available opportunity to resolve the Kashmir issue. "If not now,
then the Kashmir issue will never be settled. The international community
also wants the issue to be sorted out," he told the concluding session
of the four-day conference here yesterday of the country's envoys abroad.
The composite dialogue process with India
which completed its third round failed to make any headway in resolving the
Kashmir issue, Musharraf said and asked the Indian leadership to respond positively
to options of demilitarisation, self governance and joint management floated
by him.
The dialogue process and CBMs should move
in tandem to resolve the contentious issue. "If anyone of the two fails,
the whole dialogue process will fall apart. If we cannot resolve this issue
mutually, then Pakistan has some other options too," he was quoted as
saying by 'online' news agency.
While the news agency said Musharraf did not
elaborate on "options" at his disposal, Observer newspaper reported
he would approach the international community to press for third party mediation.
"President urged Pakistan ambassadors
to gear up their diplomatic skills so that a full fledged diplomatic offensive
be launched in case composite dialogue process fails to address the core issue
of Kashmir," it said.
Pakistan's proposal for demilitarisation of
Jammu and Kashmir along with self governance concept has been widely hailed
by all Kashmiri groups, Musharraf claimed adding the peace could not be achieved
without resolving the Kashmir issue and Kashmiris should be included in talks.
He said Pakistan wants a nuclear free South
Asia and is committed to non-proliferation regimes. He advised the envoys
to sell Pakistan's foreign policy with the focal point of Kashmir and dangers
of nuclear conflict if the two countries did not move for conflict resolution
in the region, the newspaper reported.
A brief report by the state run APP news agency,
however, said Musharraf underscored the importance of deepening Pakistan's
relations with major powers, continuing the peace process with India and resolution
of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute and further strengthening relations with
the Muslim world.
According to the official reports the thrust
of his speech was a call to Pakistan's envoys to particularly focus on expansion
of economic, trade and investment opportunities for the country, leveraging
Pakistan's geo-political location for economic linkages with major regions,
enhancing interaction with the international media and mobilising the Pakistani
community for positive projection of the country.
He directed the envoys to particularly focus
on expansion of economic, trade and investment opportunities for the country,
leveraging Pakistan's geo-political location for economic linkages with major
regions, enhancing interaction with the international media and mobilizing
the Pakistani community for projection of the country.
