New ideas floated by President Pervez Musharraf on resolving the Kashmir dispute were first revealed to a top Kashmiri leader before he went public with them last week, a report said on Sunday. Musharraf on October 25 called for debate on ways to end the dispute between Pakistan and India, with options including independence or joint control of the state.
He also proposed demilitarising Kashmir and placing sections of it under United Nations mandate or under joint control.
Mir Waiz Umar Farooq, who heads occupied Kashmir's main alliance, met Musharraf in Amsterdam in early October, Kashmir's largest circulation English daily 'Greater Kashmir', reported.
"It was a chance encounter," Farooq told the paper. Farooq was allowed to go to Jeddah and London by Indian authorities last month. The report said that Farooq flew to the Dutch capital later from London.
"President Musharraf made it clear that Pakistan was looking at different proposals for the everlasting solution to the (Kashmir) dispute," the newspaper quoted Farooq as saying.
Musharraf stopped in Amsterdam on his way back from the United States, where he had gone to attend the annual UN General Assembly session.
"His (Musharraf's) proposals bear striking similarities with our roadmap," said Farooq, whose faction held two rounds of talks with New Delhi early this year. Before engaging in another round, the moderates want to visit Pakistan.
Farooq's faction says it has a plan to resolve the dispute.
Farooq said the question of involving Kashmiris in the ongoing dialogue process between India and Pakistan dominated the meeting.
"He (Musharraf) was very clear about the involvement of the people of Kashmir in talks with India," Farooq said.
He said Musharraf had "full realisation" of the fact that Kashmiris had suffered immensely over the past 15 years. "It's our duty to see how the sufferings (of Kashmiris) are reduced," Farooq quoted Musharraf as saying.
He said Musharraf termed the divisions as "unfortunate". "He (Musharraf) said he was eager to see Kashmiris talking in one voice."
Comments
Comments are closed.