The Hindu : International / India & World : Pakistan's Kashmir panel disagrees with Musharraf's proposal

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Nov 25, 2004

International

International - India & World

Pakistan's Kashmir panel disagrees with Musharraf's proposal

By Shujaat Bukhari

ISLAMABAD, NOV. 24. The Kashmir Committee of the Pakistan Parliament has disagreed with the Pakistan President, Pervez Musharraf's proposal on the Kashmir tangle, saying that Pakistan cannot deviate from its stand of "granting the right of self determination" to the people of Kashmir. The Kashmir Committee chairman and Muslim League leader, Hamid Nassir Chatta, told visiting Indian journalists here that neither India nor Pakistan had the right to decide the fate of the people of Jammu and Kashmir. "I do not agree with it," he said when asked whether Gen. Musharraf's proposal of dividing the State into many regions would solve the dispute. "Who are we to say? Let the people of Kashmir discuss the issue and reach a conclusion. I want to make it clear that it is only the people of Jammu and Kashmir who can decide," he said, adding that Pakistan could not deviate from its stand of granting the right of self-determination to Kashmiris. "We are not going to surrender the edge by deviating from United Nations resolutions." There should be a meaningful dialogue and the objective should be the peace in the region, which could only come after resolving the issue, he said.

Asserting that the involvement of the people of Kashmir was a must, Mr. Chatta said: "I do not see any breakthrough until that happens."

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Pakistan's Kashmir panel disagrees with Musharraf's proposal