Pakistanâs President Gen. Pervez Musharraf was praised abroad but criticized at home yesterday for his latest peace offer to rival India, after he signaled new flexibility on the flashpoint issue of Kashmir. Some Pakistani commentators welcomed Musharrafâs comments and separatist leaders in Indiaâs portion of Kashmir also saw it as a step forward. But the hard-line Islamic opposition coalition Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal, which controls one of Pakistanâs four provinces and shares power in another, said any move toward dropping the resolution would be a âbetrayal of Kashmirisâ and âsurrender before India.â
| "The only way we can possibly achieve peace in Kashmir is not to change anything..." |
âNobody has a right to change Pakistanâs Kashmir policy,â said Liaquat Baloch, a spokesman for the MMA.
| "Not one iota! It's... it's... it's un-Islamic to change things!" |
In Washington, US State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said it was âconstructive to relinquish the demand for a referendum on the status of Kashmir.â In the heart of Kashmir, in the ancient Indian-controlled city of Srinagar, people urged India to respond positively to Musharrafâs apparent concession.
| Yep. Ball's in the Indian court. |
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