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| Pakistan never claimed Kashmir as integral part: FO |
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Tuesday, December 12, 2006
Denies any shift in position; defends ‘out of the box’ approach; rejects ICG report
Mariana Baabar
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Monday declared that it has never claimed that Kashmir is its integral part.
“First of all Pakistan doesn’t claim Kashmir. The Kashmir dispute is about the aspirations of the Kashmiri people,” said Foreign Office spokesperson Tasneem Aslam at a weekly media briefing here. “We never claimed Kashmir to be an integral part of Pakistan. What we said is that the Kashmiris should be able to decide their future. We hope they would opt for Pakistan … this is what they have been saying,” she said.
To a volley of questions the spokesperson kept her cool and repeatedly clarified President Pervez Musharraf’s latest ideas on Kashmir in a recent interview with India’s NDTV network. She denied there was any shift in Pakistan’s stand, saying even the country’s successive constitutions since independence never claimed Kashmir as part of Pakistan. This is the reason that Azad Kashmir has its own president and prime minister. Had it been part of Pakistan it would have a chief minister and a governor.
She said: “Pakistan’s position is very clear. Our legal position is based on the UN Security Council resolutions. We are talking of a settlement on the basis of a solution acceptable to Pakistan, India, and most importantly the people of Kashmir.
“What I have said is not new. For the last 60 years we have never claim Kashmir as an integral part of Pakistan. A provision in Pakistan’s Constitution has remained unchanged. “The Article of the Constitution says that even in the case of a plebiscite if the people of Kashmir opt for Pakistan, we will still negotiate with the Kashmiri leadership about the future status of the state.”
But the spokesperson’s explanations did not satisfy some of the senior journalists who asked her about the often-chanted slogans like, “Kashmir Banay Ga Pakistan” and “Kashmir Pakistan ki Sharag Hai.” However, the spokesperson successfully handled the “out-of-box” approach of President Musharraf.
Throughout the briefing she maintained that at no point in the NDTV interview did Musharraf say that Pakistan would take any steps to settle the Kashmir dispute unilaterally. “The president has talked about a number of steps but there have been no new proposals. These ideas (of the president) are about creating the right environment for a final settlement which would be acceptable to Pakistan, India and the people of Kashmir. The president did not say what has been attributed to him (by the media). The president says that India should also show flexibility so that we can negotiate a settlement acceptable to all the three parties. That would be the new position,” said the spokesperson.
So far, New Delhi has not responded officially to any of Musharraf’s proposals. The foreign minister of Afghanistan will be visiting Pakistan in the next quarter for deliberations with the Pakistani leadership. He will be coming to Pakistan on the invitation of Foreign Minister Khurshid Kasuri, who recently concluded a trip to Kabul.
“The discussions that the two foreign ministers held were detailed, candid, constructive, and open. There was no bickering. They talked about perceptions on both the sides and what can be done to lower the level of violence. The two foreign ministers also talked about the convening of a Loya Jirga, and the Pakistan embassy in Kabul will receive today a set of proposals from the Afghan side,” said the spokesperson.
When asked if the “tears” and “breaking down” of President Hamid Karzai during a speech on Sunday was an act of a defeated and frustrated leader, the spokesperson said, “I’m not a psychoanalyst, so I cannot comment on whether he was faking it. It is an emotional statement and he was essentially talking about the sufferings of the Afghan people. He mentioned the killing of the Afghans. Pakistan is also suffering and there have been many suicide attacks here. We are also victims (of terrorism). We have been fighting terrorism. What needs to be done, we have spoken and given suggestions a number of times.”
Asked to explain Pakistan’s demand as to who should be included in the Loya Jirga as the international media reports from Kabul have highlighted that the bickering was on the point that Pakistan was not agreeing to the inclusion of some Afghans in the Loya Jirga as proposed by Kabul.
“This is absolutely baseless. We gave the Afghans comprehensive proposals of how the Jirga should take place. Afghanistan has appreciated this. They will hand over their proposals today,” she said.
Pakistan has brought forward new elements to the notice of the neutral arbiter appointed by the World Bank to give a final verdict on the dispute between Pakistan and India on the Baglihar dam under the Indus Waters Treaty. Replying to a question, the spokesperson said this was the reason that the judgment was delayed.
When quizzed about the latest report of the International Crisis Group (ICG) on Musharraf’s mishandling of the military operation in Waziristan, the spokesperson said, “I’ve as yet to see a positive report from the ICG. The ISAF report says that violence in these areas has come down in the last two months. There is also a UN report which has discussed problems in Afghanistan and factors responsible for the situation there.”
Replying to another query, the spokesperson said religion has nothing to do with acquiring weapons, as these have no religion. Responding to reports of the Gulf countries uniting to acquire nuclear technology the spokesperson said, “Every country has a right to acquire nuclear technology for peaceful purposes under safeguards.”
NNI adds: About the India-US nuclear deal, the spokesperson said Pakistan’s position on the accessibility to nuclear technology is very clear as Islamabad has genuine energy requirements and it should have access to nuclear technology to meet its needs.
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ISSN 1563-9479 
