Pakistan could be willing to give up its claim to Kashmir if India agrees to a self-government plan for the disputed Himalayan region, Pervez Musharraf said today.
The Pakistani President told the Indian New Delhi Television channel his country would back wide-ranging autonomy or self-governance for Kashmir, with Islamabad and New Delhi jointly supervising the region.
Asked whether Pakistan would be ready to give up its claim to Kashmir, he said: ”We will have to … if this solution comes up.”
Both Pakistan and India have claimed the whole of Kashmir — split by the so-called Line of Control into a Pakistani-controlled sector to the north and a larger Indian-run area in the centre and south — since the end of British rule in 1947.
Randeep Ramesh, the Guardian‘s south Asia correspondent, said Musharraf’s statement was another small step in a long diplomatic process rather than a breakthrough.
He said Pakistan giving up its claim would inevitably follow the nations agreeing on a plan for self-government in Kashmir, but added there were many problems to iron out before a deal could be agreed.
Musharraf’s statement appeared to be in part intended for domestic consumption, alerting the Pakistani public to the fact that future concessions could be made over Kashmir.
He said he had a ”four-point solution” to Kashmir, including a gradual withdrawal of troops, self-governance, no changes to the region’s borders and a joint supervision mechanism.
Two of the three wars fought between India and Pakistan since independence have been over the Muslim-majority region.
New Delhi accuses its neighbour of supporting an Islamic insurgency in the Indian-controlled part of the region. The insurgency has killed 68 000 people since it began in 1989.
Pakistan insists it only gives the rebels diplomatic and moral support, not material aid or training.
In 2004, India and Pakistan began a peace process that has resulted in a considerable easing of tensions between the two countries. – Guardian Unlimited Â