June 5, 2002	Wednesday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 23,1423

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ALMATY, June 4: President Gen Pervez Musharraf said on Tuesday the people of South Asia were paying the price for what he termed India’s unwillingness to end the standoff over disputed Kashmir.

“The people of South Asia continue to pay a very heavy price by the refusal of India to resolve the Kashmir dispute in accordance with the relevant UN resolutions and the wishes of the Kashmiri people,” Musharraf told the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-building Measures in Asia (CICA) here.

“For the past several months, tension along our borders with India and the Line of Control is high, stirring deep fears in South Asia and around the world over the real possibility of conflict,” the president said.

“We do not want war. We will not initiate a war. But if war is imposed on us, we will defend ourselves with the utmost resolution and determination,” he said.

“We have stated repeatedly that instead of accusations, threats and dangerous escalation, India should return to the path of dialogue and negotiations, which is the only sane option, especially in the dangerous environment of South Asia.”

In his address Musharraf said state oppression could lead to terrorism.

“We cannot allow individual or group terrorism on any pretext. Similarly, we cannot condone for any reason the rapacious policies of certain states that forcibly occupy territories and deny freedom to peoples for decades on end,” he said.

“Global peace has remained hostage to the expansionist ambitions of such states and their ruthless campaigns to suppress, through brutal use of force, the legitimate struggles of people to gain their internationally recognized fundamental right to freedom and self-determination. “Terrorism by states, apart from inflicting massive suffering on occupied people, spawns a spiral of violence and terrorism.”

President Musharraf said that “denial of freedom, and the resulting desperation and humiliation, are the breeding grounds for extremism.” To eradicate terrorism, he said “we must address the root causes by eliminating injustice and honouring the commitments consecrated in the Charter principles.”

Global peace, he said, has remained “hostage to the expansionist ambitions of such states” and their ruthless campaigns to suppress, through brutal use of force, the legitimate struggles of peoples to gain their internationally recognized fundamental right to freedom and self-determination.

Pakistan notes with satisfaction, he said, that the Almaty Act to be adopted by the CICA summit had reaffirmed the core principles of the UN Charter, namely: respect for sovereign equality and territorial integrity of states; respect for the right of self-determination of peoples under occupation and colonial domination; peaceful settlement of disputes through dialogue and international intercession and mediation; and mutually beneficial cooperation.

Gen Musharraf said: “Our faith in the validity of these principles has been reinforced by the unfortunate history of South Asia.”

President Musharraf said he travelled to Agra nearly a year ago in the hope of setting into motion a dialogue process to address Kashmir and all other outstanding issues with India. Regrettably, he said, the summit remained inconclusive.

The president said the end of the Cold War and the elimination of the danger of global annihilation, heightened prospects for global peace. Ten years later, he said “that optimism has been tempered by unfortunate events and trends.”

“New threats and new prejudices darken the horizon,” he warned.

In these circumstances, he said, interaction, dialogue and confidence-building have assumed greater urgency “for the revival of a fading promise.”

“We must ask ourselves whether the present situation has been brought about because of a sudden eruption of violence and terrorism by misguided individuals and desperate groups that threaten to destabilize the international community. Or is there a deeper malaise and terrorism is a symptom of this malaise.”

September 11 brought home to the world “the horror of terrorism and galvanized inter-national resolve to fight and eliminate this modern day scourge.”

“Targeting of innocent people cannot be justified under any circumstances. We do and we must reject terrorism in all its forms and manifestations.”

However, as we wage war on terrorism, there also is the need for introspection. “Violence in the world is not because of terrorism alone.” —Agencies