Dubai, Jan 08: With India and Pakistan agreeing to hold a composite dialogue next month, Islamabad has said it is willing to look at options other than UN resolutions to settle the Kashmir problem but made it clear that it has no plans to "abandon Kashmir”.
“On Kashmir, we are willing to look at options other than the UN resolutions. We realise these are what give Pakistan`s position legitimacy in Kashmir but the UN resolutions were made 50 years ago. Has it solved the Kashmir issue?" Pakistan Foreign Minister Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri said in an interview to a Dubai-based newspaper.
He gave the interview yesterday, a day after India and Pakistan issued a joint statement in Islamabad announcing holding of composite dialogue on bilateral issues, including
Jammu and Kashmir, after talks between Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and President Pervez Musharraf.
"There are other UN resolutions, Palestine is a case in point, which have not been honoured. We must explore the option of talks with India," Kasuri said. However, he hastened to add that Pakistan would not abandon Kashmir.
"We have no plans to abandon Kashmir. Indeed, we have made sure it is part of the declaration (joint statement), that it is part of the composite dialogue," he said while urging opposition parties not to make political capital of the Kashmir issue.
Kasuri was reacting to the rising displeasure of hardline `jihadi` elements, rattled by the Pakistan government`s promise not to allow itself to become a haven of terror.
Characterising a thaw in Indo-Pak ties as "relations on the mend," Kasuri said both the countries have realised that the way forward is not through war but dialogue and co-operation.
He said the international community had played a major role in pushing both nations to come to an agreement. Pakistan he said was quick to buy in on the argument.
"We came to the realisation first, followed by India," the Foreign Minister said, adding, "We must now cash in on the feel-good factor to create a peaceful South Asia that is attractive to FDIs. An idea certain to become irresistible."
When asked what had changed, what had indeed prompted India to offer talks without holding Pakistan to the pre-condition of an end to `cross -border terrorism` and what
assurances had been made by both sides that allowed for such a compromise, Kasuri credited the confidence of both leaders in leaving aside the baggage of the last 54 years and having the courage to signal they were willing to be "flexible”.
"Such breakthroughs can only happen at the political level, when leaders have the confidence that they can carry it through and they can carry their people with them," he said.
Kasuri said the inner circle kept a tight lid on negotiations so that there would be no room for misreporting or misrepresention by the media.
"We were working on it till the very last minute, and we kept it completely under wraps," Kasuri said, admitting more than once that he felt "almost euphoric" over the breakthrough.
While refusing to say exactly when in February talks would commence with some reports indicating it could be as early as February 15, Kasuri also refused to be drawn on whether these would be foreign secretary level talks as widely speculated.
Reacting to groups, which had accused the Pakistan government of a sell-out, Kasuri said, "It is the duty and responsibility of the opposition to refrain from giving this a completely negative spin.”
"I urge them to see this as their responsibility not just to their parties but to the nation and to the Kashmiris to support this new initiative. It is in the interest of the Kashmiris and the people of Pakistan that they do."
Working to achieve "a spirit of bipartisanship on Pakistan`s Kashmir policy" within Pakistan was the "next biggest challenge" before his civilian government, he added.
Bureau Report
