Opinion - Letters to the Editor   

Musharraf's `solutions'

Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf's "out-of-the-box" solutions to the Kashmir problem, presented in his memoirs, In the Line of Fire, are nothing different from Islamabad's stated position over the years. The region will be automatically demilitarised on the Indian side if Pakistan stops unnecessary provocation by its military in the border regions and takes steps to stop terrorist activities.

Ravikumar Sreepada,
Jagtial, A.P.

President Musharraf's "new" solutions have long been proposed by Pakistan and the All Parties Hurriyat Conference. The Kashmir problem can only be solved by tripartite talks involving India, Pakistan, and the Kashmiris with all the parties prepared to make concessions. The exclusion of the Kashmiris from any peace talks will complicate matters for both India and Pakistan.

Salman Zafar,
Roorkee, Uttaranchal

Thanks for the three articles (Sept. 25) in which you have countered the assumptions and allegations made by General Musharraf in his book. I am surprised the General is proclaiming Kargil as a victory for Pakistan. It is also ridiculous to suggest that India's uranium enrichment programme may be a copy of Pakistan's centrifuge design.

How can President Musharraf make such allegations without any substantiation? Not one solution the General has offered as part of his "out-of-the-box" thinking is feasible. It is also amusing that he mentions a give-and-take policy with respect to Kashmir. But what is he willing to give? And, with such a mentality President Musharraf expects the peace process to go on.

S. Sudhir Kumar,
Hyderabad

Gen. Musharraf has admitted that he chose to ditch the Taliban when the U.S. threatened him with dire consequences if he did not do so. Similarly, if powerful groups in Pakistan's military establishment look askance at his cosying up to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and threaten to topple him, the General may very well forget his Havana assurances to Dr. Singh. India will do well to watch its step.

K. Vijayakumar,
Bangalore

General Musharraf's solutions are bound to be seen as part of a ploy by the Indian Government for the reason that he fails to make any categorical commitment about the so-called "Azad Kashmir." However, the General will also find it difficult to get his own people to agree to give up Pakistan's claim to absolute sovereign rights over all of Jammu and Kashmir. But it would be folly for India to reject the proposals outright without even a discussion. No amount of sacrifice is too much to mend the strained relationship between the two countries.

N.S. Sankararaman,
Toronto, Canada

If the Pakistan President is really serious about resolving the vexatious issue of Kashmir, he should first dismantle the infrastructure of terror in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and abandon the policy of bleeding India through cross-border terrorism.

M. Jeyaram,
Sholavandan, T.N.

It is indeed welcome that President Musharraf wants a thorough discussion on the Kashmir problem and has revealed his plans for a solution. But the question is: how did Kashmir become a problem at all? Was it not owing to the extra-territorial ambitions of Pakistan? The Pakistani leader has failed to take this fact into account in his book.

P.U. Krishnan,
Udhagamandalam, T.N.

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