WASHINGTON, July 21: US Congressman Dan Burton has said that demilitarisation will be helpful in resolving the Kashmir conflict.

Mr Burton, a Republican from Indiana and co-chair of the Pakistan Caucus in the Congress, told a conference on Kashmir that Pakistan had a plan to withdraw troops from Kashmir and allow Kashmiri people to elect their leaders. He said President Musharraf had discussed the plan with him during his recent visit to Islamabad.

“The only solution to the problem lies in allowing Kashmiris to govern themselves,” Rep Burton said.

He said Kashmir had been held hostage to India for a long time, “although this beautiful area deserves freedom as much as we do in America.”

Addressing the sixth International Kashmir Peace Conference, held at the Capitol Hill, Religious Affairs Minister Mohammad Ejazul Haq urged the US to play its role in seeking a peaceful settlement of the dispute.

“The US should monitor the Pakistan-India talks, pressure India to show seriousness on the issue, stop human rights violations and demilitarise Jammu and Kashmir,” he said.

“But, peace does not rest in the charters and covenants alone. It lies in the hearts and minds of all people,” said Congressman Nick Rahall, quoting former US president John F. Kennedy,

“Keep the dialogue open,” said Democrat Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson. The difference of opinion must be respected, she said, stressing the need for adoption of traits of tolerance and anger management.

Pakistan’s Ambassador Mahmud Ali Durrani said that “only an out-of-box solution” could resolve the Kashmir dispute, urging both Pakistan and India to ensure that the people of Kashmir got the opportunity to express their free political will.

Dr Karen Parker, Chairperson of the Association of Humanitarian Lawyers, said the organisers had taken the right step by inviting speakers from Pakistan, India and both parts of Kashmir to exchange views on the subject.

Mowahid Hussain Shah, Special Assistant to the Punjab Chief Minister, said it was time to shun hypocrisy; and get serious about resolving the dispute. “Might is not always right,” he said. “The oppressed have a way of being heard too.”

Other speakers, including some Indian scholars and journalists, urged both Pakistan and India not to ignore that Kashmir was not just a bilateral dispute. “It also involves the people of Kashmiri who have suffered untold miseries since 1947,” one of them said.

“The cry for peace in Kashmir is going all over the world but what Kashmiris require is a peace based on justice,” said Prof Shawl, Executive Director of the Justice Foundation, London.

The composite dialogue between the two countries, he said, would not achieve its objectives unless ‘genuine Kashmiri leaders’ were involved in the process.

“I would suggest to both Pakistan and India to take out their armed forces … demilitarise the region and facilitate the search for a solution,” he said.

Dr Ghulam Nabi Fai, Executive Director of the Kashmiri American Council, said restoration of commercial ties between the two countries would not necessarily reduce tension between them. “Normalisation can come only after the Kashmir dispute is settled and peace and security are solidified.”

Dr Kamal A. Mitra Chenoy of the Jawaharlal Nehru University criticised India for refusing to speak to the Kashmiris living outside the state and Pakistan for not allowing to function the parties that opposed accession.

He noted that the areas of Gilgit and Baltistan had scarcely any representation at all.