New Delhi, Mar 14: Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf said that confidence building measures must go in tandem with the composite dialogue on all outstanding disputes and Kashmir cannot be sidelined or ignored.
He said that it was imperative that Kashmiris are involved in any such dialogue between the two countries who should attempt to resolve the disputes bilaterally, while emphasising that the Kashmiris must be part of any dialogue. He said the United States
being the sole superpower in a unipolar world could come in 'only if we get stuck'.
But he emphasised that we cannot sprint the confidence building measures (CBMs) while the dialogue moves at snail's pace. He said there was need to be pragmatic and realistic and appreciate that the CBMs would not work if a solution was not found to the Kashmir dispute which was the core issue.
He admitted that he was known in India as a person with a unifocal vision who could not forget Kashmir and would be unrealistic if he did not talk about Kashmir. He said no Pakistani leader or the people of his country could sideline this issue and 'we cannot move forward unless this is done. Kashmir is the stumbling block, but he was a realist and a soldier, not a diplomat and did not believe in bluffing. 'My vision of peace is to resolve the Kashmir issue.'
Addressing the public meeting via a two-way satellite link from Islamabad for almost two hours during which he also answered questions from Indians here, President
Musharraf he was often saddened and disheartened when he found that most Indians thought Kashmir was only a minor issue that could be settled later since that was the central issue as far as his country was concerned.
Bureau Report
