New Delhi
28 April 2007
India and Pakistan should consider condominium as an arrangement
pending ultimate resolution of the Kashmir issue, Sardar Abdul Qayyum Khan said.
Reiterating what he recently said in an interview to this newspaper, Sardar Qayyum on
Saturday told a gathering of analysts, academics, former army officials and retired
diplomats that India and Pakistan should forget about solution for now and instead take
interim measures in consultation with each other.
"I advocate that (India and Pakistan should) forget permanent, durable solution ... (that) is
pretty far away. We have wasted 50 years (in search of solution). In the meantime, we
should so what is necessary," he said. "(Pakistan President General Pervez)
Musharraf's four-point formula is not panacea but the suggestion is full of wisdom and
can be considered. I told him that any arrangement that can save Kashmir and Kashmiris
and bring back normalcy should be acceptable to both sides," he said, referring his
discussions with the military ruler of Pakistan.
The former president and prime minister of Pakistan Occupied Kashmir, who is in New
Delhi for the Second Intra J&K Heart to Heart Talk, asserted that resolution of the Line of
Control by turning it into a de facto border would not end the problem between India and
Pakistan. The Line of Control, he said, should be made irrelevant. "... like in Europe, that
is needed. Free activity should be allowed across it," he said.
Cautioning both sides against being "overtaken by accidents" like in the past, he said
that if confidence building measures were followed with confidence and trust, India and
Pakistan "can travel this distance quickly" and earlier than expected provided
reasonably strong personalities on both sides showed courage and wisdom. He insisted
that demilitarisation by itself was not an answer, it should be implemented together with
other things in a package.
Sardar Qayyum, who described himself as a "prejudice-free man," said that there were
no terrorists and no terrorist training camps in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir. "I am being
frank and candid ... persons could be there on both sides of the Line of Control but there
is no camp and no training. The Pakistani camps have been dismantled," he said in
response to a question. He said that the Lashkar-e-Tayyaba has ceased its activities, its
camps have been dismantled in Pakistan and there were none in Pakistan Occupied
Kashmir. "Some might still be existing on the Indian side," he said.
He sought "safe passage" from India for militants operating in Jammu and Kashmir
saying they would be "accepted" there. "May be some belonging to the Lashkar-e-
Tayyaba school of thought are existing on that side (of Jammu and Kashmir). If they get
the safe passage, they might return home (PoK). We are ready to accept them. Instead of
keeping the irritants there, it is better they are moved to this side (PoK)," he said.
He felt that the "idiotic" and "totally senseless" procedures for travel on the bus service
across the Line of Control was the reasons for few passengers wanting to make the bus
journey from Pakistan Occupied Kashmir. "The procedure must be simplified and made
easy," he said. Sardar Qayyum added that the Hurriyat leaders should have attended the
Roundtable Conference chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. "They should not
reject any offer (of talks)," he said.
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