Pakistan open to peace deal

Pakistan is willing to give up its claim to Kashmir if India reciprocates and agrees to self-governance in the disputed Himalayan region, President Pervez Musharraf said in an interview aired Tuesday.

The comments, made to India’s NDTV network, were among the Pakistani leader’s strongest yet to encourage a settlement in the bitter, decades-long dispute since the South Asian rivals began peace talks nearly three years ago.

There was no immediate reaction from India’s government, and Musharraf’s spokesman accused NDTV of “twisting” the president’s comments to suggest that Pakistan was making a unilateral offer to give up its claim to Kashmir.

Pakistan and India each control parts of Kashmir, a predominantly Muslim region that was divided between them during a partition of the subcontinent on independence from Britain in 1947.

In his interview, Musharraf was asked whether Pakistan was willing to give up its claim to Kashmir if India also agreed to self-governance in its part of the divided region. He replied, “Yes, we will have to if this solution comes up.”

In Islamabad, the Pakistani capital, Musharraf’s spokesman emphasized that such an offer was dependent on New Delhi altering its stated position that Kashmir is an integral part of India.

“The president at no point said that Pakistan is unilaterally ready to give up its stance on Kashmir,” Maj. Gen. Shaukat Sultan said.