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| India-Pakistan |
| Kashmir separatist leader unveils unification plan |
| 2007-01-07 |
| SRINAGAR, India - A Kashmiri separatist leader put forward a peace plan on Saturday to unify the disputed Himalayan territory -- claimed both by India and Pakistan -- and give it autonomy. Sajad Gani Lone, chairman of Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Conference, proposed that unified Kashmir be administered by its people, while the region’s defence could be the joint responsibility of Kashmiri, Indian and Pakistani authorities. Lone said “Achievable Nationhood” -- a 266-page document -- was the first of its kind to be presented by a separatist since the insurgency broke out in Indian Kashmir in 1989. Among other things, the document envisages unhindered, tax-free movement of goods between the two Kashmirs which India and Pakistan claim in entirety but rule only in part. “Achievable Nationhood achieves unification of two parts of Jammu and Kashmir,” Lone told a news conference. “Achievable Nationhood propounds the creation of a single Jammu and Kashmir Economic Union which would result in a boundary-less and prosperous Jammu and Kashmir,” he said. Lone’s peace formula comes a month after Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf said Islamabad would abandon its claim to Kashmir if India agreed to give the territory autonomy under joint supervision by both countries. India welcomed the proposal saying it could be discussed during formal peace talks between the two sides. |
| Posted by:Steve White |
| #1 Personally I think the only solution for Kashmir is to divide it by current ownership. Independence would mean Kashmir waited to be swallowed by India or Pakistan. What I would like to see is an independent Kashmir and Punjab forming a semi-neutral border between India and Pakistan. Won't happen, but I think it would be a good thing for India to implement. |
| Posted by: rjschwarz 2007-01-07 14:29 |