SRINAGAR, Oct 26: Kashmiris on Tuesday welcomed as 'path-breaking' and 'positive' a raft of fresh proposals President Pervez Musharraf had floated on Monday to resolve the Kashmir dispute.
"It is a very positive development," Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, the head of a moderate faction of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference, told AFP.
"Demilitarizing Kashmir should be a priority," he said, adding the Hurriyat partners would meet in a day or two to discuss Gen Musharraf's ideas. Other APHC leaders also reacted positively.
Abdul Ghani Bhat, another leader of the APHC, said President Musharraf's proposals "are a new approach towards finding an acceptable solution".
"All of us will have to rise above traditional positions. These proposals will have to address the sensibilities of all three parties and they need to be looked into fairly, intelligently and imaginatively," Mr Bhat told the Associated Press.
"It is a path-breaking statement. I welcome it," said Javed Mir, who in 1989 was instrumental in launching an armed struggle against Indian occupation.
"Musharraf is trying to be flexible. He is not insisting that Kashmir should become part of Pakistan. It is a welcome change," said Mr Mir.
Mr Mir wants the Indian and Pakistani zones of Kashmir to be united and given independence.
Jamiatul Mujahideen, however, said: "The Kashmir issue cannot be resolved through formulas other than the right to self-determination."
"I welcome Musharraf's non-acceptance of LoC as permanent border. We (Kashmiris) will never allow that thing to happen," senior Kashmiri leader Shabir Shah, said.-Agencies
