Musharraf says South Asia Peace 'Fairly Irreversible'

RAWALPINDI, Pakistan - Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf said on Thursday he was "fairly optimistic" the Kashmir dispute with India could be resolved and described their peace process as "fairly irreversible."
Speaking in an interview with Reuters ahead of his first visit to India since a disastrous summit in Agra in July 2001, Musharraf was relaxed enough to joke about the prospects, starting by saying: "I hope it doesn't turn out like Agra!"
Musharraf said the atmosphere for talks was now much better, but his weekend meetings with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh would have to concentrate on trying to get closer to a solution for the divided Himalayan region of Kashmir.
"I am fairly optimistic, I would say, because I see Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to be a sincere person and wanting to come to a resolution of this dispute," Musharraf said.
"So if there is sincerity in the leadership, I think there can be progress."
Musharraf said he did not expect an immediate breakthrough.
"We cannot solve the issue, we cannot reach a conclusion, but if we make progress on it and we strike some common ground, that is what I would like to achieve and that is the maximum that one can expect."
Musharraf said when he had traveled to India for the failed Agra summit -- after which, far from talking peace, nuclear-armed Pakistan and India shook the world by going close to a fourth war -- the environment had been "tense."
"I go in a very harmonious and friendly environment now," he said, adding that Pakistan and India were now talking about cooperation on gas pipelines from Iran, Qatar and Turkmenistan.
Musharraf, who was born in Delhi, said his mother and son had been treated "exceptionally well" when they visited India recently and added: "I only hope we can take advantage of this friendly environment to resolve our disputes."
Asked whether he felt the peace process was irreversible, he said a series of confidence-building measures (CBMs) had done a great deal to improve the mood. "If you see the people-to-people contacts; the business community; the media; the cultural interaction; even the politicians coming here exchanging from this side and going on that side, it is fairly irreversible I would say.
CONFIDENCE-BUILDING NOT ENOUGH
"But if any side becomes intransigent with their views, I have made it very clear that all CBMs cannot be the final solution. Unless we move forward on the main issue of Kashmir we cannot go on the path of CBMs only."
But he said he did not want to appear pessimistic by suggesting the whole process would be reversed. "I hope it doesn't come to that."
Musharraf said Pakistan had pledged a political resolution to Kashmiris, so it was a matter of principle. "One doesn't give up principles for the sake of any other expediency," he said.
Without elaborating, Musharraf said he planned to take up the Kashmir dispute immediately "because we don't have that much time" and because other issues were dealt with at a lower level.
"At the level of the leadership, at the summit level, the core issue of Kashmir needs to be addressed and moved forward."
Musharraf said that after the start of the first bus service across the military Line of Control (LOC) dividing Indian and Pakistani sides of Kashmir this month, Pakistan would like to see more routes across the territory opened.
"That really is the first step toward converting it into a soft border," he said while stressing that India's wish to see the LOC converted into a permanent border was not acceptable.
"I have made very clear to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh that we cannot accept the Line of Control to be the final solution. "We have to find an out-of-the box solution."
India and Pakistan both claim Kashmir in full and India accuses Pakistan of stoking a 16-year revolt that has killed tens of thousands of people -- a charge denied by Pakistan.
Last year, Musharraf suggested the possibility of solutions that could involve a division of the Muslim-majority region on ethnic lines, demilitarization and a change of its status to independence, joint control, or even U.N. control. But Singh rejected the proposals saying India would not agree to any redrawing of its boundaries.
Musharraf declined to say if he would be bringing anything new to the table in India.
Asked how the impasse over Kashmir could be broken given India's refusal to consider border changes, he suggested there might be more to Delhi's position than met the eye.
"I know that there is much more to it than what is up front. We know what their people are saying, but ... everything is not said up front."
Indian National Security Adviser M.K. Narayanan was quoted by India's Hindu newspaper as saying Musharraf had produced "very few" proposals on Kashmir, so it was unclear what he hoped to achieve from his visit. "Expect neither a dramatic breakthrough nor a breakdown," he said.