Manmohan Singh?s positive response on Musharraf?s formula

On the self-governance, Delhi has repeatedly draw Paks attention to the asymmetry that exists between PoK Northern Areas and Kashmir, reports Vinod Sharma.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s seemingly positive response to questions based on General Pervez Musharraf’s four-point formula on Jammu and Kashmir marks no radical departure from the Indian stand in the bilateral talks held earlier on the issue.

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In fact, in the beginning of 2006, then Indian Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran had rejected any joint sovereignty, control, management or supervision of Kashmir.

What he had proposed, in fact, was the possibility of cross-LOC “consultative” mechanisms on issues such as environment, water management and tourism promotion. The PM spoke on similar line in his speech later in March while inaugurating the Amritsar-Nankana Sahib bus service.

The four points Musharraf made in an interview earlier this month to NDTV were about making the LoC irrelevant, staggered demilitarisation, autonomy or self-governance for Kashmir and a joint supervision mechanism. “I don’t think what the PM has said means more than what we have already told the Pakistanis,” a top official told the Hindustan Times.

On the self-governance question, New Delhi has repeatedly draw Islamabad’s attention to the “asymmetry” that exists between PoK and the more tightly controlled Northern Areas and the Kashmir on the Indian side, where self-governance has been delivered through free and fair elections.

In the talks on demilitarisation, Pakistan has been told in no uncertain terms that troop withdrawal would not be possible in the face of cross-border terrorism and concomitant violence.

Moreover, the thinning of Indian security forces has to be a sovereign decision based on New Delhi’s assessment of the security situation in the State.

Email Vinod Sharma: vinodsharma@hindustantimes.com