Offer includes Siachen truce, says Kasuri: New Delhi’s response lauded
By Qudssia Akhlaque
ISLAMABAD, Nov 24: Foreign Minister Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri said on Monday that although Pakistan had not received a formal response from India to its declaration of unilateral ceasefire along the Line of Control (LoC), it welcomed India’s initial response that New Delhi would respond positively.
“I welcome the statement of the government of India quoted in the media that it will respond positively to our offer,” Mr Kasuri said, adding that India should welcome Pakistan’s offer “wholeheartedly” and without any reservations.
The offer of unilateral ceasefire along the LoC was made by Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Jamali in his address to the nation on Sunday in which he also expressed willingness to start Srinagar-Muzaffarabad bus service, revive air links and re-open Khokhrapar-Munabao route.
Mr Kasuri was talking to journalists after an Iftar-dinner hosted by him here at the Foreign Office.
On India’s counter offer on Monday of ceasefire in Siachen, the foreign minister said that his understanding was that Pakistan’s offer of the ceasefire was comprehensive and covered the Line of Control (LoC), the working boundary (WB) and the line of actual contact (LOAC), “in other words Pakistan’s offer included Siachen.”
What is known as line of actual contact (LOAC) in Pakistan is called actual ground position line (AGPL) in India.
“As far as Pakistan is concerned it has always supported de-militarization and the latest offer by Pakistan applies to the whole of Kashmir,” he said.
Explaining the objective of the series of Confidence Building Measures (CBMs) announced by India and Pakistan since April, the foreign minister said: “The idea of these CBMs is to improve atmosphere and subsequently pave the way for resolving the main problem that has caused tension between the two countries.”
Mr Kasuri asserted that these CBMs indicated that both Pakistan and India wanted to improve relations and realized that it was in their interest to have peace. Referring to the peace initiatives announced by Prime Minister Jamali, he said it demonstrated that Pakistan attached importance to normalizing relations with India.
He predicted that the CBMs would have a far-reaching impact on the region and would help restore peace. Linking peace to prosperity, he argued that reduction of poverty that blights the region was only possible once relations between the two countries normalized.
The foreign minister said repeatedly that he wanted the relations between Pakistan and India to improve, hoping that it would lead to friendly ties ultimately.
Mr Kasuri reiterated the need for all-encompassing composite dialogue that included the core issue of Kashmir.
“We will continue to tell international public opinion and our interlocutors in India that for durable peace we need to have a composite dialogue.”
On the question of air links he said Pakistan had gone a step further and offered to “instantly revive” air links in the spirit of promoting people-to-people contacts, making it clear that Pakistan would no longer insist on guarantees against unilateral withdrawal of the facility.
“The prime minister is very clear on this (air links) that we are prepared to start immediately, we are not bargaining or negotiating that,” he categorically stated. “As a starter it is a very good initiative and they (Indians) should have no hesitation in accepting what we have offered,” he added.
In the same spirit, to unite the divided families across the LoC, Pakistan had accepted the offer of Srinagar-Muzaffarabad bus service and was willing to discuss the modalities, Mr Kasuri said.
Responding to the Indian allegation of cross-border infiltration, the foreign minister said Pakistan had no desire to infiltrate. The fact that Pakistan had offered ceasefire along the LoC clearly conveyed that “it does not want infiltration,” he asserted.
On the split in the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) the foreign minister said Pakistan wants a united APHC. “Pakistan believes that a united APHC is in the interest of the people of Jammu and Kashmir and we will try our best to see these differences are bridged,” he stated. Mr Kasuri did specify how it would go about it.
On statements from New Delhi that there would be no one-on-one meeting between the Indian and Pakistani prime ministers at the 12th Saarc Summit in Islamabad, Mr Kasuri said Pakistan was mindful of the fact that Saarc was a multilateral forum.
“While we have been emphasizing the need for a dialogue, we are not pushing for a bilateral agenda,” he maintained.
Mr Kasuri underlined that it was in the interest of all the poor people of South Asia that Saarc must succeed.
He also called upon the Indian civil society to play a constructive role in improving Pakistan-India relations. The minister made this plea in the context of reports that Bollywood was currently working on eight to ten movies with the dominant anti-Pakistan theme. Terming it a “very disturbing trend” he appealed to the opinion-makers in India to dissuade it.
“Such movies can generate a lot of tensions as the Indian film industry has a vast audience,” he warned.
The foreign minister also urged Bollywood to refrain from making such movies, pointing to the “dangerous effect” they can have on the young and vulnerable minds.
Replying to a question he said Pakistan was self-sufficient in missile and nuclear technology, addingthat perhaps in certain areas its technology was even more advanced than India’s.
