Pak Prez for joint management of J&K

He, however, said there needs to be "discussion and thought" with regard to institutionalising the arrangement.

Endorsing Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's suggestion to institutionalise arrangements to bring people from both sides of divided Kashmir closer, Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf has said this needs to be discussed as it could be a 'starter' for the 'joint management' of the undivided state.

HT Image

Musharraf noted that "none of us is in favour of their (Kashmir's) independence" and suggested that a "joint framework for self-governance" of both parts of Kashmir should be worked out as part of solution to the problem.

"Yes, I think that is a starter. This is a very good term," he told noted Constitutional expert AG Noorani in an interview to a reputed magazine when referred to Singh's recent remarks that there should be institutionalisation of arrangements to bring people from both parts of Kashmir closer.

Musharraf was asked whether he would consider Singh's suggestion as "an acceptable mode of joint management" of the two parts of Kashmir.

Singh had made the remarks at the Kashmir roundtable in Srinagar on May 24 while addressing various groups of the state.

"The term 'institutional arrangements' is what I think is correct. But we need to define the modalities," Musharraf said in the interview published in the latest issue of the magazine.

Musharraf said there needs to be "discussion and thought" with regard to the idea of institutionalising the arrangement.