Pakistan plays feet in two boats game – Kasuri says cannot force India to include Kashmir separatists in India-Pak talks – the real story is different!
Sonia Joshi
Jun. 8, 2005

When Kashmir separatists met Musharraf and other Pakistani officials, they demanded that Pakistan make way for their presence in India-Pak talks. Pakistan according media sources from Kashmir blames India for non-inclusion of the Kashmir separatists. But Pakistan may be happy not to have those dissident Kashmiris in the meeting. Pakistan goals are two. First they want to keep the Pakistan occupied Kashmir. Second, they want control over water in Indus River to ensure prosperity of Pakistan.

Pakistan foreign minister Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri today said that while attempts have been made to convince India to include the Kashmiris in the peace talks, "we cannot force into India to include the Kashmir".

Pakistan has been trying to persuade India to include representatives of Kashmir in the dialogue but has not been successful, Foreign Minister Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri told reporters after a meeting with Hurriyat chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and eight other leaders from the Kashmir valley, including JKLF leader Yasin Malik here.

"Let us walk before we run. We cannot force India to include the Kashmiri representatives in the dialogue," he said.

Kasuri, however, said Pakistan has been trying to put "diplomatic pressure" on India in this regard.

During the meeting, which took place hours before their talks with Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf, the separatist leaders discussed the ongoing peace process to resolve the Kashmir issue and their demand for inclusion of Hurriyat representatives in the dialogue process to make it trilateral.

Kasuri also vehemently denied allegations by hardline Hurriyat leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani that Pakistan followed a US-drawn roadmap on Kashmir under pressure.

He said similar allegations were made in the past over Iraq, but Pakistan neither voted for the US invasion of Iraq nor dispatched its army to Baghdad at the Americans'' request. Geelani had turned down Pakistan's invitation for the visit to the country and PoK.

Kasuri asserted that there was no military solution to the Kashmir issue. "We cannot enforce a military solution on India and vice-versa," he said, answering questions during a luncheon hosted by him. While pressing for inclusion of Kashmiris in the dialogue, Farooq wanted the two countries to speed up the process with a set timeframe for resolving the Kashmir issue.

"Right now there is too much gap and delay in the meetings being held by India and Pakistan over Kashmir. The dialogue should be speeded up and be held without interruptions with a set timeframe," he said.

Farooq said Kasuri has assured them that no decision on resolving the Kashmir issue would be taken without involving Kashmiris.

He too denied any US pressure, saying that they have been interacting with various American officials and he has not heard of any roadmap on Kashmir by Washington. Without directly referring to differences between his group and that of Geelani, he said efforts were underway to take all the leaders on board.

However, he said the time has come to move forward even if some of the leaders declined to join, apparently referring to Geelani's decision not to visit Pakistan in response to its invitation.

Yesterday, Hurriyat leaders during their visit to Lahore said the Line of Control would never be accepted as a permanent border and that the Indo-Pak talks could not succeed without participation of Kashmiris.

Farooq said Hurryiat leaders'' visit to Pakistan had strengthened the Kashmir issue while Maulana Abbas Ansari stated that Kashmir should not be divided on the basis of religion. Abdullah Tari said that giving a timeframe for resolving the Kashmir issue was difficult. Later, JKLF leader Malik told reporters in Islamabad that the separatist leaders meeting with Musharraf would play an important role in the Kashmiris'' participation in the Indo-Pak talks as a third party.

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