Tahir Iqbal, Pakistan’s minister of Kashmir Affairs and Frontier Regions, has called for the establishment of a single government for the entire state of Jammu and Kashmir with internal autonomy except for defence, foreign affairs and currency. He was answering a question about “self-governance” which, it was suggested, had created a great deal of confusion in the minds of the people. Iqbal was asked to define what the self governance that Gen Pervez Musharraf first proposed was and what it would entail. Iqbal did not say whose responsibility the three subjects – defence, foreign affairs and currency – would or should be. | Iqbal said there is no “cross-border terrorism” into India from Pakistan and asked India not to point fingers at Pakistan, because, “if you point one finger at us, we will point three fingers at you.” |
Thrice during his address at the Kashmiri-American Council on Monday, he called on India to show “some flexibility” and come up with “in-box” solutions, a characterisation that perplexed many among his audience. The consensus was that by “in-box” solutions, the minister meant “out-of-box” solutions that President Musharraf has often called for. Iqbal has been here with two members of the Azad Kashmir Council for nearly two weeks, but it was not clear what they have been doing. In New York, they have met someone who is running for Congress and some local Kashmiris. Till the time of writing, they had not met any US officials.
Iqbal said there is no “cross-border terrorism” into India from Pakistan and asked India not to point fingers at Pakistan, because, “if you point one finger at us, we will point three fingers at you.” He said this more than once. He was hopeful of the outcome of the Foreign Secretary talks between India and Pakistan from November 14-15.