LAHORE, May 2: Indian High Commissioner in Pakistan Shiv Shankar Menon said here on Tuesday that solution to Kashmir dispute was lingering on because no modus operandi to resolve the issue was available as yet. “The parties to the dispute have not so far been able to work out a common strategy and a consensus formula which can serve as the basis for the solution to the problem because of a variety of reasons”, Mr Menon said at a ceremony sponsored by the Supreme Court Bar Association, presided over by its president Malik Mohammad Qayyum.

However, the Indian envoy said as the process of a composite dialogue between India and Pakistan was in progress and certain targets promising better understanding between the two countries had been achieved, it was expected that parties to the dispute would be able to find a way to resolve the issue.

However, he made it clear that the third-party mediation was not acceptable to India. “We are the parties to the problem and we alone were obliged to show sagacity to resolve it”. The cordial atmosphere now existing in this part of the world was a rare opportunity and we must not waste it by indulging in frivolous issues, he added.

In his speech, and also in reply to questions, the envoy said India had already initiated a dialogue with the representatives of the Kashmiri leadership, and if Islamabad also stepped up consultation with them a consensus strategy was bound to emerge. He said the difficulty with New Delhi was that a genuine leadership of the people of Jammu and Kashmir was yet to be identified. Still, the Indian government was engaged in a dialogue with the Kashmiri leadership which had emerged in successive elections and even those who had not taken part in the electoral process, he said. This certainly was a sincere effort on the part of the Indian leadership to find a solution to the issue, he added.

He said another ‘ground reality’ was that not the entire Kashmiri leadership agreed upon any single formula to resolve the issue. Self-determination was certainly the right of the Kashmiris, but non one could ignore the other side of the the reality, he added.

“There is no impediment to resolve the issue on our part. If there is any such hindrance, it is the cross-border terrorism which has undoubtedly been taken care of, and much more requires to be done to completely stop it”, he added.

Mr Menon said friendship between India and Pakistan should not be made conditional to the solution of the Kashmir issue as such a thinking would impede the way to better economic and trade relations between the two countries.

Stressing the need for peace and prosperity in South Asia, he said the region was inhabited by one-fifth of humanity which was in the grip of abject poverty and suffering from illiteracy, hunger and want. “We must rise above all considerations and focus our attention to ameliorate the sufferings of millions of the people”, he said and added that India and Pakistan had all the potential to become huge economies.

“We have enough of conflict, let us now give peace a chance. We must seize the cordial atmosphere which the leadership of the two countries have achieved with courage and sincerity”.

The envoy said the common perception in Pakistan that the Indian forces were threatening the lives of Kashmiris, was a misconception. He invited a lawyers’ delegation to visit Kashmir to themselves witness that people were engaged in their daily life without any fear and intimidation like other parts of India.

PIPELINE: Mr Menon also dispelled the impression that New Delhi wanted to pull out of the Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline project. He said India too wanted to benefit from an important energy source from Iran. He said India would join the next round of the talks to be held in connection with the project in June.

On Iran’s nuclear energy issue, he said it was Iran’s right to develop the capability, with the condition that such a facility should be only used for socio-economic development.

In reply to a question, the Indian envoy said that the fact that the composite dialogue between India and Pakistan had sustained, was a major breakthrough in mutual relations between the two South Asia states.

He said the people of India wanted to see Pakistan strong and peaceful because it was in their best interest.