November 27, 2001	Tuesday	Ramazan 11, 1422

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NEW DELHI, Nov 26: Former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto acknowledged on Monday that there was a wide gulf between India and Pakistan over their perceptions on the Kashmir dispute, but said the problem could be resolved peacefully and patiently, by adopting the ongoing border talks between India and China as a model to follow.

“If there is no progress in conflict resolution, there should be an effort towards conflict management,” Ms Bhutto told a news conference on the second day of a private visit to India.

“India has a dispute with China over the border. But India and China have not gone to war. India and China are holding meetings and this could be a model of how states with disputes, where they disagree, could handle their situation.”

Ms Bhutto said the United Stated and China have a dispute over Taiwan. “But the two countries are involved heavily in trade. I think it is important for us to understand, if there are different perceptions, we can still meet to dispel misperceptions.”

She underscored the difference between her government’s policy towards Kashmir and that of her numerous successors. “During my tenure we ensured that no outside group was allowed to hijack the Kashmiri movement. And organizations like the Lashkar-i-Tayyaba, which had their links to the al-Qaeda group, were kept out. The level of violence was lower. There were no hot pursuits into Pakistan.”

In separate remarks to journalists Ms Bhutto advocated open and safe borders between the two countries.

“Irrespective of our differing views on Jammu and Kashmir, let us build safe and open borders. Let India and Pakistan sit down and see how they can replicate to some extent what happened in West Asia between Jordan and Israel, where they have safe and open borders despite the fact that there are militants who want to take advantage,” she said, adding that it was a “do-able mission” depending on the will of the governments in the two countries.

Strongly favouring a broad-based relationship between the two countries, the leader of the Pakistan People’s Party said: “If we can somehow have negotiations without prejudice to our views on Jammu and Kashmir, may be when we work together, the wounds (would) heal.”

On the skepticism in India about Pakistan President Gen Pervez Musharraf’s stand on terrorism, she said: “Overtly he says he is against terrorism but he needs to demonstrate that in a palpable way. The continued intensity of violence in the disputed Jammu and Kashmir has its own impact on Indo-Pak relations.”