November 03, 2007	Saturday	Shawwal 21, 1428

ISLAMABAD, Nov 2: Former AJK prime minister Barrister Sultan Mehmood Chaudhry on Friday expressed concern over reports that Pakistan and India had come close to some kind of an agreement to divide Kashmir by converting the Line of Control into international border.

He said at a press conference that according to his information the two countries might sign an agreement to this effect soon.

He claimed that the main party to the issue were the Kashmiri people who were against the division.

Mr Mehmood, who is also president of the AJK People’s Muslim League, said apparently there was a deadlock in the dialogue process between India and Pakistan over Kashmir.

He said that there would be no lasting solution without the participation of Kashmiri representatives. He was of the view that the Kashmiris wanted resolution of the dispute, but it should be in accordance with their wishes and resolutions of the United Nations Security Council.

Criticising the government for what he called the slow pace of work on rehabilitation of the quake-affected people in Azad Kashmir, he said a lot of quake victims were still facing difficulties even after the passage of two years. He opposed the shifting of the AJK capital from Muzaffarabad and said the state capital was a base camp of the Kashmir movement and it should not be relocated.—APP