MUZAFFARABAD, May 28: British High Commissioner to Pakistan, Mark Lyall Grant, on Friday said Kashmir was one of Britain's legacies in the subcontinent and that was why his country was taking keen interest in seeing this issue resolved.

"We are not proud of everything we did. The speed with which we departed the subcontinent left so many unresolved things, Kashmir being the most significant of them," he said, speaking to a select audience on "Indo-Pak Peace Initiatives and Kashmir: British viewpoint."

The programme was arranged by the Kashmir Institute of International Relations whose chairman and president Shah Ghulam Qadir MLA and Sardar Amjad Yousaf, also spoke on the occasion.

"Kashmir is also a domestic political issue in Britain which is home to nearly 500,000 Kashmiris from Mirpur. The British government recognizes the importance of the issue and takes it very seriously," said Mr Grant who was accompanied by BHC Political Consular Peter Waterworth.

Kashmiris, he said, had greatly suffered over the past 56 years - loss of lives, loss of contact with family and diversion of resources. "There certainly are people on both sides of Kashmir fed up with the dispute and with the violence and want to see peace because violence will not achieve anyone's aims except those who have vested interests in the conflict," he remarked.

He said there had been many peace efforts in the past, but lately a historic opportunity had emerged to resolve this dispute. He paid tribute to President Pervez Musharraf and former Indian PM Atal Behari Vajpayee for launching the latest peace initiative which, he said, had really needed statesmanship and bold leadership on both sides.

Whether the hand of friendship offered by Mr Vajpayee or the ceasefire announced by Pakistan along the LoC or the Islamabad declaration, they had established the context in which the talks would take place, he said.

He said it was encouraging that BJP leaders had made clear that regardless of being in opposition they would support the peace process initiated by them. On the other hand, Congress leaders who had supported the peace process while in opposition publicly stated after coming to power that they were committed to that process and wanted to take it forward, he said.

Mr Grant said that Britain welcomed the progress over the past 12 months and strongly supported the process as well as the prospects of a solution acceptable to India, Pakistan and the Kashmiris.

"This means that Kashmiri people need to be involved in the process at some point and because of that we support the prospects of dialogue between Delhi and Srinagar just as we support the same between Islamabad and Muzaffarabad. We would also support dialogue between Muzaffarabad and Srinagar whatever may be the venue."

He said Britain was urging both countries to allow that dialogue to take place and was ready to help in that process politically, morally, financially or in any other way that both would like it to do. However, Mr Grant reiterated that a sustainable process or solution could not be imposed from outside - by Britain, United States, United Nations or any other outside agency.

"Sustainable solution needs to come from the two governments and the Kashmiris themselves. It would require flexibility and patience." He said President Musharraf had realized it and it was important that expectations were realistic and not faster than the dialogue itself.

Underlining the need for confidence-building measures, both Kashmiri and non-Kashmiris, he said economic connection and links between journalists, lawyers and parliamentarians could play a very important role in this regard.

On terrorism, he said Britain's position was clear that it was not acceptable whatever (may be) the political cause or justification. It was for this reason that the British Foreign Secretary condemned the recent explosion which might have targeted the Indian BSF but killed many women and children, he said, referring to last Sunday's explosion by Hizbul Mujahideen in held Kashmir.