'Musharraf 'best bet' for India to resolve Kashmir'

New Delhi, Mar 14: National Conference (NC) Chief Omar Abdullah today (Mar 14, 2006) asserted that Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf was India's 'best bet' to resolve the long-drawn Kashmir imbroglio and said New Delhi must 'grab' the opportunity to permanently settle the issue during his tenure.

''Gen Musharraf is the best bet for India to do business with. He has shifted from the traditional maximalist position on Kashmir and shown flexibility,'' Mr Abdullah, who returned from a six-day Pakistan visit last evening, told sources here.

''The President has realised that the issue needs to be 'buried' and that is essential for the region to move ahead in the world hierarchy,'' he added.

Mr Abdullah, who held a 45-minute one-on-one meeting with President Musharraf in Islamabad, said India must seriously consider and respond to the General's proposals of self-governance and joint management.

This was the maiden meeting between Mr Abdullah and General Musharraf. Pakistan has so far not recognised elected leaders from Jammu and Kashmir as the representatives of the people.

''Gen Musharraf has extended a hand well within the fitness of things...India must grab the opportunity with both hands and not loose it,'' said the National Conference chief, who is the first ever mainstream political leader from Jammu and Kashmir to visit Pakistan in the past more than 30 years.

''These proposal are not outlandish. Successive Indian Governments have stated that out of box solutions are required...

they must be responded to and at least talked about,'' reiterated Mr Abdullah, who had gone to Islamabad to attend the Pugwash roundtable conference on Kashmir.

He said there were no guarantees that President Musharraf's successor would be more flexible than him.

Expressing disappointment over India turning down the suggestions, he said Gen Musharraf is under tremendous domestic pressure and New Delhi must take recognise that. ''In Pakistan, the President's stance on Kashmir is being construed as too flexible and giving out too much without anything in return... that puts him under lot of pressure,'' he added.

Mr Abdullah said the Pakistan President was keen on resolving the issue but his ''domestic compulsions'' might not allow him to continue on the same path if India did not respond to his suggestions.

''The doors to this opportunity have closed and the window the are only open.... we must try and sneak through before even they are shut.

About the proposal of self-governance, he said the issue was discussed at the meeting with General Musharraf.

''First the President asked me about my impressions about Pakistan and then asked about our autonomy proposal. I told him that it is restoration of Kashmir's autonomy to the position where Union of India has jurisdiction only over foreign affairs, defence and currency''.

''After this he talked about his self-rule proposal and said it was an evolving concept,'' he added.

''The President said that self rule does not have a structure that he can propose. He gave me an impression that he wants to incorporate several aspects of our autonomy proposal into it,'' Mr Abdullah added.

The National Conference Chief said the joint India-Pakistan management proposal for the entire Jammu and Kashmir without changing the sovereignty of the either side was based on logic.

''The proposal stems from Gen Musharraf's belief that only that solution to Kashmir issue is possible where no side (India or Pakistan) loses face, where no side can claim victory''.

Explaining the idea, he said it first involved devolution of maximum powers to the state governments on either side and then creating a group with India, Pakistan and representatives of either side of Kashmir to monitor it.

''This proposal is based on the fact that India could not work out a solution that would affect its sovereignty over Jammu and Kashmir. And this is a solution that is possible without changing sovereignty on either side. You develop a mechanism by having joint control that will provide both sides a say on territory where they had no say since 1947 without changing the respective sovereignty,'' he said.

About demilitrasitation, Mr Abdullah said troops should be pulled out from the areas where the State and the Union governments feel that the violence has come down.

''It is not for the General to suggest where we should pull out the troops from.... I think he just said to spark off a debate,'' he added.

UNI

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