Pakistan not to accept Loc-based Kashmir solution

Islamabad, Apr 4: Terming the Line of Control (LoC) part of the Kashmir issue, Pakistan Foreign Minister Khurshid Kasuri has said his country will not accept any LoC-based solution.

While addressing the concluding session of a seminar on 'Conflict Resolution in Kashmir: The Human Dimensions and Political Imperatives' here last evening, he said, ''President Pervez Musharraf's proposal for demilitarisation and withdrawal of troops from urban centres was aimed at alleviating the sufferings of the Kashmiri people and improving the human rights situation.'' ''Pakistan has made it clear that we cannot agree on any proposal which can be seen as altering the existing temporary status of the LoC and turning it into a permanent border,'' Mr Kasuri said.

''We have made it amply clear that no LoC-based solution will be acceptable to us since we consider the LoC as part of the issue, not a solution,'' he added.

Earlier, Sardar Khalid Ibrahim, representing Pakistan occupied Kashmir, said water issues between India nad Pakistan posed a serious threat to the confidence building measures if they are not addressed immediately.

Movement of Kashmiri people across the LoC must be promoted and encouraged but the terror exchange must be arrested from both sides, he added.

Delhi-based columnist Prem Shanker Jha underlined the need for extensive dialogue between the two countries.

All Party Hurriyat Conference chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq too hailed continuation of the dialogue process between the two sides saying it was a step in the right direction.

UNI

Related Stories