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Kashmir at Heat of Pakistan-India Confrontation: Musharraf
Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf said on Friday that Kashmir dispute is at the heart of Pakistan-India confrontation and this is the only issue blocking peace between the two countries.
He was addressing a news conference here in the evening, his first one after returning from Agra Summit.
The President answered three questions put forward by himself on the occasion. He gave a confident "yes" to whether the people of Pakistan, Kashmir and India genuinely want peace and begin a new era, saying he wants to give peace the biggest chance.
However, his answers to the other two questions were unequivocally "no". He pointed out that neither could peace be achieved without solving the Kashmire dispute first nor could Pakistan and India reach a resolution on Kashmir issue without the involvement of Kashmiris.
Acknowledging that some other issues bedeviled bilateral relations, Musharraf deemed the Kashmir dispute an incomparably protruding one.
He said the biggest confidence building measure is the resolution of Kashmir dispute.
The President appealed to the peoples of Pakistan, India and Kashmir to rise and strengthen the hands of the moderate and flexible-minded people who are yearning for peace.
"We should rise for the sake of mutual economic progress, banishing poverty, alleviating miseries of Kashmiris, preventing unnecessary loss of lives of Kashmiris and Indian forces and for the sake of future generations."
As for the Agra Summit which produced no declaration or agreement, he said both countries made good beginning and the process would continue.
"I return empty-handed, but not disappointed. I resolve to carry forward the initiative that has been taken and the process will continue," added the President.
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