Musharraf reiterates call for making LoC irrelevant

Islamabad, Oct 23: Pakistan President General Pervez Musharraf today renewed the offer of making the Line of Control (LoC) in the Jammu and Kashmir irrelevant to facilitate a solution of the lingering issue.

''My proposals on self-governance and joint management (in Kashmir) will pave the way for making the LoC irrelevant,'' he said in a wide-ranging interview on the Geo TV tonight.

When asked as to how the two countries could find a solution to the issue when the Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh ruled out redrawing of maps, the Pakistan President said the Indian Prime Minister has not agreed to redrawing of maps while we oppose making the LoC a permanent border adding that it was because of this reason that he proposed self governance and joint management which will ultimately make the LoC irrelevant.

Gen Musharraf also claimed that the agreement after his 2001 talks with the former Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in Agra was almost final but it could not be signed.

Alleging that the Indian ''establishment'' was so powerful that it did not let the agreement inked, he said they still had the copy of Agra accord with us.

Gen Musharraf has also mentioned the Agra talks in his autobiography, ''In the Line Of Fire'', which was released in New York last month.

On Kargil crisis, he strongly dismissed Nawaz Sharif's statement as ''rubbish'' that Gen Musharraf ever asked the former Prime Minister to facilitate withdrawal of the Pakistan army personnel from Kargil.

''This is absolutely rubbish,'' he said adding that he never made any such request to Mr Sharif, asserting that Pakistan achieved its objectives in Kargil to highlight Kashmir issue internationally.

Ruling out formation of a commission on Kargil issue, he said, ''We should not dig debris of the past.'' ''There is much sensitivity involved in Kargil and as such there was no need to form any commission,'' he said.

''However, the two countries must try to resolve their differences through peaceful and diplomatic means,'' Gen Musharraf said stressing that he was not a warmonger.

The two countries are to resume Foreign Secretary level talks next month as per decision by Dr Singh and President Musharraf taken during their meeting on the sidelines of the NAM summit at Havana.

The peace process had been suspended days after Prime Minister Singh accused elements across the border of involvement in the July 11 serial bombings at Mumbai.

UNI

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