Opinion - Letters to the Editor   

Out of the box?

The four-point solution suggested by Pervez Musharraf to the Kashmir problem in his book, In The Line of Fire, looks impressive but is not practical. The fourth element in particular — of setting up a joint mechanism with membership of Pakistanis, Indians, and Kashmiris to oversee self-governance in regions identified for demilitarisation — is unworkable. When the two countries have not been able to maintain normality on the border in nearly six decades, how can one expect the joint venture to work?

Omendra Bharat,
Kanpur

Any sensible government will reject the "out of the box" solution on Kashmir as absurd. The aim is to take the Valley out of Indian control as is evident from Gen. Musharraf's suggestion to demilitarise identified regions. As for the joint mechanism, no government worth its name will allow it on its soil.

J.L. Ganjoo,
New Delhi

Dr. Singh has said that as redrawing boundaries is not acceptable to India and neither is permanency of the LoC to Gen. Musharraf, a via media will be worked out. One wonders what the via media could be. There is no scope for a meaningful dialogue between the two countries.

V. Sekkar,
Thiruvananthapuram

This refers to the editorial "Be with us or be bombed" (Sept. 25). The revelation that the U.S.' Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage warned Pakistan that it should be prepared to be bombed back to the Stone Age if it did not support the war against terrorism in Afghanistan is shocking. It should serve as an eye-opener to the U.S. apologists. If Washington persists with such arm-twisting tactics, it poses a greater threat than terrorism.

Pradeep Mishra,
Gurgaon, Haryana

I find no reason to sympathise with Pakistan. A country that clandestinely encouraged terrorism in Kashmir and Afghanistan deserved no better.

No country with an iota of self-respect would have surrendered so meekly to the U.S.' diktat, whatever the circumstances.
H. Borah,

Guwahati

One must admire the General's courage in revealing the threat of annihilation held out five years ago by the U.S. It shows that Washington had convincing reasons to believe that Islamabad was a breeding pool of terrorism. The clever General has spoken at a time when the person who allegedly held out the threat is no longer in power.

P.K. Shreeramachandhran,
Chennai

The image of the Bush administration is fast eroding both at home and abroad. The editorial is right in saying that there will be all-round relief if the Americans in November vote in a Congress that can restrain an akratic President.

V.M. Khaleelur Rahman,
Ambur, T.N.

I fail to understand the media hype over Gen. Musharraf's book. Why should we be so concerned about what he says? Is it going to change the way in which the world looks at us? There is nothing in the book except reinforcement of his animosity towards India.

Ramani P. Easwaran,
Bangalore

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