29 February 2004	Sunday	08 Muharram 1425

LAHORE, Feb 28: A former member of the National Kashmir Committee, Justice Raja Afrasiab Khan (retired), has said that no solution to the Kashmir issue will be durable and acceptable to the people of Kashmir without their consent.

In a statement issued here on Saturday, he referred to the joint statement made by the foreign secretaries of India and Pakistan at the conclusion of their recent talks at Islamabad that the solution of the Kashmir issue would be such that was acceptable to both the countries.

He said that the joint statement had made no reference to any solution that was also acceptable to the people of Kashmir.

Raja Afrasiab said that the consent of the people of Kashmir to the solution of the Kashmir issue was essential, as he believed that any solution acceptable to both Indian and Pakistan and not to the Kashmiris would not be durable nor would it ensure establishment of permanent peace in Jammu and Kashmir.

In such circumstances both the countries would be required to accept the fact that the people of Jammu and Kashmir were the important factor in the issue.