NEW DELHI, Dec 16: Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said on Saturday that he welcomed all new ideas that could help resolve the Kashmir dispute and also stressed that Delhi had been engaged in an intensive dialogue with Pakistan during his two and a half years in office.
The prime minister was speaking to Indian journalists on his way back from a four-day tour of Japan. His comments appeared to welcome recent remarks by Pakistani President Gen Pervez Musharraf on a four-point interim solution to the Kashmir issue which he made at least twice to Indian journalists since August this year.
Asked to comment on the proposals put forward by Gen Musharraf, Dr. Singh said these would be discussed at the appropriate forums. The prime minister also confirmed that he had accepted an invitation by Gen Musharraf to visit Islamabad but didn't say when that would be.
"All these matters will be discussed. As far as President Gen Musharraf's four-point solution, we welcome efforts by whosoever talks about normalising relations between India and Pakistan," Dr Singh was quoted by Indian news agencies as saying.
"The destiny of South Asia is linked, and therefore, I give high priority to relations with Pakistan and to solving all outstanding issues between our two countries, including Jammu and Kashmir."
He said: "If at anytime new ideas come, we welcome them. I would like to say that in the last two-and-half-years, we have had a very intensive dialogue with Pakistan."
Gen Musharraf has offered a four-point formula for a possible solution to the Jammu and Kashmir issue, envisaging a Kashmir that allows a free movement of its people across the Line of Control, self-governance or autonomy, but not independence, withdrawal of troops in a staggered manner and a joint supervision mechanism with representation of India, Pakistan and Kashmir.
Although his latest interview with an Indian TV channel has evinced wider interest in Gen Mushrraf's proposals, he had in fact given a more detailed plan to senior Indian write A.G. Noorani in August. In that interview, published in the Frontline magazine, Gen Musharraf had responded neutrally to an idea to consider an Ireland-style solution for Kashmir.
Such a proposal was tossed up at a public platform in Delhi in March 2003 by former US President Bill Clinton. It is in this context that Hurriyat Chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq is currently visiting Ireland at the behest of the British Foreign Office to study that option.
