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Peace process irreversible: Indo-Pak statement

     New Delhi: Issuing a joint statement, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Pakistan President Gen Pervez Musharraf said that the peace process is irreversible and they have agreed to open up the line of control in Jammu and Kashmir. Gen Musharraf and Manmohan Singh said they would work towards a "soft border" in Kashmir, opening meeting points for divided families and boosting cross-border trade, travel and cooperation. Reading out the joint statement standing next to Musharraf, Singh said the two leaders, "conscious of the historic opportunity created by the improved relations and the overwhelming desire of the peoples of the two countries for durable peace... determined that the peace process was now irreversible". But while there was progress and agreement on the way to push the peace process forward, there was, as expected, no major breakthrough on a final solution to their dispute over Kashmir, at the heart of half a century of hostility and war. But an emphatic Singh did strongly stress on the commitment to blot out terrorism from the peace map.

     "The two leaders had substantial talks on all issues. They determined that the peace process was now irreversible. In this spirit, the two leaders addressed the issue of Jammu and Kashmir and agreed to continue these discussions in a sincere and purposeful and forward-looking manner for a final settlement. They were satisfied with the discussions and expressed their determination to work together to carry forward the process and to bring the benefit of peace to their people. They also agreed to pursue further measures to enhance interaction and cooperation across the Line of Control including agreed meeting points for divided families, trade, pilgrimages and cultural interaction. They condemned attempts to disrupt the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad bus service and welcomed its successful operation. The two leaders pledged that they would not allow terrorism to impede the peace process," Singh said. Some Indian analysts believe softening the line of control could eventually lead to it forming a new border to end the dispute, although Pakistan rejects the theory.

     Earlier in the day Musharraf had told Indian editors that a soft border is not a final solution. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and General Musharraf also took on questions. Musharraf left for the Philippines later. They agreed to increase bus services between the divided parts of the valley and open the fenced and heavily guarded border, which was once dubbed the world's most dangerous flashpoint by the United States, to freight trucks and pilgrims. "They decided to increase the frequency of the bus service and also decided that trucks will be allowed to use this route to promote trade. They also agreed to operationalise additional routes including that between Poonch and Rawalkot. They also look forward to early start of the bus service between Amritsar and Lahore and to religious places such as Nankana Sahib. They agreed to re-establish the Khokhrapar-Munnabao route by 1st January, 2006," Singh said. The three-day visit by the Delhi-born Pervez Musharraf was originally intended as an informal trip to watch Pakistan play cricket in India -- Pakistan won on Sunday -- but effectively turned into a summit with the Pakistan-born Manmohan Singh. Analysts and commentators have welcomed the talks, four years after Musharraf walked away from a failed summit at Agra, and three years after the nuclear rivals came close to another war over Kashmir. Amid heavy security, Musharraf has received a hero's welcome since landing in India on Saturday with a prayer for peace at South Asia's most famous Sufi shrine at Ajmer.

     While the two sides remain far from a settlement over their most contentious issue, the talks were to a degree a breakthrough for their positive tone -- and the fact they happened at all. "I am fully satisfied, I am more than satisfied. I think we have achieved more than I expected because of the sincerity and flexibility shown by both sides, by Prime Minister Dr.Manmohan Singh and also the discussions, which took place on the basis of sovereignty and equality. I am satisfied with the output," Musharraf told reporters minutes before the joint statement. On Sunday, Musharraf met Kashmiri separatist leaders, who he says must be brought into any peace process for it to work. The All Parties Hurriyat Conference leaders are due to meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for the first time soon, although no date has been set.

LoC cannot be the final solution: Musharraf  (Go To Top)

     New Delhi: India and Pakistan have made considerable progress in their peace process, Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf told reporters here today , after capping a successful visit to India. Islamabad and New Delhi have said they would work together towards a "soft border" in Kashmir, opening meeting points for divided families, boosting trade, travel, tourism and cooperation. "All issues were discussed. Every issue was discussed. Consulate, bus services, dams, Kashmir, trade and commerce, everything was discussed and I would like to say that cricket was also discussed. On every each one of the issues there was a positive development. I think the outcome has been better that I expected," said Musharraf. While the two sides remain far from a settlement over their most contentious issue, the talks were to a degree a breakthrough for their positive tone -- and the fact they happened at all. Musharraf said while there was progress and agreement on the way to push the peace process forward, a final resolution of the vexed issue of Kashmir was to be worked out between the two countries. Kashmir, the only Muslim-majority state of India is at the heart of half-a-century of hostility and war. "The discussion took place with a spirit of sincerity and flexibility. And therefore progress was made. I am hopeful about further progress on all issues, including the Kashmir dispute. We certainly have decided that we need to take the process of resolution of Kashmir dispute forward in a purposeful manner for final resolution of dispute," he said.

     Musharraf, during his three-day visit to India, apart from the top Indian leadership, met Kashmiri separatist leaders, who he says must be brought into any peace process for it to work. The All Parties Hurriyat (Freedom) Conference leaders are due to meet Singh for the first time soon, although no date has been set. "This is such a complicated issue. We have to understand this in a balanced manner. To move forward on it is not easy. We must understand that," Musharraf added. Musharraf said the ceasefire line dividing Kashmir should not become a permanent border as a way of solving the dispute over the Himalayan region. "India says that there can be no redrawing of borders. I do not agree with this statement. But there is one thing Prime Minister Manmohan Singh should understand that making Line of Control a permanent border is not a permanent solution. He also agrees to it. He also says that do something that boundaries can be made irrelevant. Now tell me how do these statements match?" he asked.

India must show magnanimity: Musharraf (Go To Top)

     New Delhi: Nobody will be allowed to disrupt the ongoing peace dialogue and process between Pakistan and India, but there is a need for India to show magnanimity in resolving all bilateral disputes between the two neighbours, President General Pervez Musharraf told a select group of editors at a breakfast meeting shortly before his departure from India after completing a three-day visit. At the breakfast meeting held at the Taj Mansingh Hotel, Musharraf said that both India and Pakistan would do well to approach all issues with sincerity and he also appealed for generating a consensus on the Kashmir issue to ensure its amicable solution. He categorically said that Pakistan could not accept the LoC or a soft border as a long-term solution.

Bagliar Dam finds no mention in Indo-Pak statement (Go To Top)

    New Delhi: With neither Pakistan nor India reaching any kind of firm agreement or solution to the Bagliar Dam controversy, the issue failed to find a mention in the joint statement that was issued by the two sides at the end of President Musharraf's three-day visit to India on Monday. Talking to Pakistani mediapersons on Sunday evening, Musharraf said that he was clear in his mind about what the controversy was all about. Explaining the problem in layman terms, he said that basically there were two aspects to the problem in relation to the 1960 Indus Waters Accord signed between the two countries, and they were poundage and capacity. Giving further details, he said that the dispute over the dam was linked to its design and its eventual operation after completion. Pakistan, he said, favoured the use of the dam on the basis of its eventual design, while India favoured its use on an operational basis.

     The second issue, the president said, was over dead poundage and the existence of a gate at one point of the dam. He said a debate was on between the two sides over head poundage i.e. who would have access to the water or who could retrieve the water from the dam. Musharraf said that it was the opinion of the Pakistani experts that it could take as many as 27 days for the dam to be filled with water, and that could hurt crop production in Pakistan. The issue, he said, was now with the World Bank and it was for the neutral experts to come to sound and mutually acceptable solution. On the question of hardline elements on either adopting conservative stances on the issue, Musharraf said: " I say to them, use your brains, open your minds. Meeting together, sitting together is not everything. We are already in trilateral mode on most issues."

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