The Hindu : National : We have to move forward: India

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Jun 29, 2004

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We have to move forward: India

By Our Diplomatic Correspondent

NEW DELHI, JUNE 28. "I do not want to project an idea of what is ours or theirs," the External Affairs Ministry spokesman, Navtej Sarna, said when asked what was New Delhi's understanding of the term "final" settlement of the Jammu and Kashmir issue that finds mention in the joint statement issued by India and Pakistan today.

"The idea is that both the countries are now engaged in a process, in a composite dialogue, in which there are several subjects and Jammu and Kashmir is one of them and both countries are committed to resolving all these issues bilaterally and peacefully," he said.

Taking questions after reading out the joint statement, Mr. Sarna said that terrorism was discussed in today's meeting, as it was part of earlier statements and discussions. "It was underscored that terrorism is not good for the region, it is not good for India, it is not good for Pakistan and we must work together to remove this scourge from our midst..."

Asked if the issue of "terrorist infrastructure'' in Pakistan was specifically raised, he said that it was a long discussion. "I am not going to go into the diplomatic give and take of the discussions. I have given you a broad idea of what was discussed. Let me retain the confidentiality of diplomatic exchanges."

On the problems that confronted the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad bus service, Mr. Sarna clarified that the proposal was still on the table. "This was not a technical level meeting so we did not go into the technicalities of each of the proposals. Those proposals on which there was immediate agreement, the Foreign Secretaries have agreed to, the rest of the proposals are on the table."

"We hope this process will move forward. There will be technical level meetings not only on this [the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad bus] but other subjects that may require them, and those will be the correct fora for working out these details." Is India concerned with the Pakistan Foreign Secretary, Riaz Khokhar's meetings with several Kashmiri separatists? "Have you seen any expression of concern'' the spokesman asked.

On the "plans" of some Kashmiri separatists to visit Pakistan in the near future and New Delhi's views on the issue, Mr. Sarna said, "the Government of India is a very wide body and I am not the spokesman for the entire Government of India."

Asked how much flexibility the two sides had shown on Kashmir, the spokesman said the mood was constructive. "The exchanges have been extensive and so we have to move forward. This is the beginning of a process."

The Pakistan Foreign Office spokesman, Masood Khan, claimed that there was no glitch in starting the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad bus service.

The issue of travel documents, he said, would be taken up at the technical level talks.

India and Pakistan had moved in the right direction both on the issues of peace and security as well as Jammu and Kashmir.

Asked if there was any deadline for addressing the Kashmir issue, Mr. Khan said this was a very complex issue and the two sides had not been able to solve it for the last 50 years.

The ``satisfaction of one party does not mean a solution. You have to satisfy all the parties. That spirit and understanding is emerging very rapidly ... you have to involve all the parties to satisfy their concerns,'' he said.

Denying that there were any terrorist training camps in Pakistan, Mr. Khan said in response to a question that there was no discussion on the "status" of the Line of Control and the International Border.

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