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Jammu and Kashmir is the most important issue. It is an issue between Pakistan and India that has affected us the most," Pakistan High Commissioner to India Ashraf Kazi Jehangir stated at a seminar in New Delhi on Sunday.
At the seminar, Vajpayee-Musharaff talks: Hope or Hype? he ruled out the assumption that slowly and steadily a consensus was being built around accepting the Line of Control as an international border, saying, "This is not the presumption of the proposed talks. The status quo (on Kashmir) is in conflict with grievances of the people."
He stressed Pakistan's stand that Kashmir was a disputed territory, unlike other states of India or provinces of Pakistan. "I don't say Kashmir is a part of Pakistan. We don't recognise it either as a part of India."
In a reply to a query on whether when Pakistan talks about a plebiscite in Kashmir if it included Pakistan Occupied Kashmir, Kazi said, "Do you mean Azad Kashmir? We only recognise the Kashmir that existed before 1952."
He emphasised that Pakistan was talking about the "whole of Kashmir".
Indirectly insisting on Hurriyat's participation in the proposed talks, he said, "Some modalities to give representation to the people concerned should be introduced."
Commenting on the section opposing the Vajpayee-Musharraf talks, he said, "No matter how serious the differences between us, the presence of dialogue helps more than the absence of it. I justify professional criticism, looking at the past record. Scepticism is okay, but cynicism may be a mistake. It will not lead us anywhere. The talks are the beginning of the process.''
The Indian prime minister [Atal Bihari Vajpayee] and Pakistan's chief executive [General Pervez Musharraf] have behaved like statesmen," he added.
He said, "We know the differences. But they should not come in the way of resumption of dialogue.''
When his attention was drawn to United Nations resolutions and other conditions like demilitarisation of the area, before holding a plebiscite, he said, "It's very good news if India raises those points. The people of Kashmir think that the LoC passes, not just through borders, but their hearts."
The seminar, organised by the Indian Women Press Corps, was attended by S K Singh, former foreign secretary, Brahma Chellany, columnist, and Imtiyaz Alam, senior journalist of the Pakistani publications Jung and The News.
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