The Hindu : International / India & World : Aziz presents optimistic picture

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Nov 26, 2004

International

International - India & World

Aziz presents optimistic picture

By B. Muralidhar Reddy

ISLAMABAD, NOV. 25. The Pakistan Prime Minister, Shaukat Aziz, today presented before the military-dominated National Security Council (NSC), an optimistic picture of the ongoing peace process with India.

The India-Pakistan dialogue was one of the seven items on the agenda of the Council that met here under the chairmanship of the Pakistan President, Pervez Musharraf. Created by Gen. Musharraf, as part of the constitutional reforms, the body legitimises the military's role in governance.

Mr. Aziz took the members of the Council, including the three service chiefs, into confidence about his parleys in New Delhi, especially on Kashmir and the proposed gas pipeline from Iran. He told the Council that India has agreed to ``look at all options on Kashmir based on ground realities.''

On the gas pipeline, he conveyed the Indian view that it has to be part of the larger economic relations, which would involve conferment of the Most Favoured Nation status on India by Pakistan. Pakistan would have to respond soon on the request by India for a meeting between the two Petroleum Ministers to discuss the possibility of the pipeline. In its response, Islamabad would have to consider the Indian desire for larger economic ties.

The Leader of the Opposition, Maulana Fazlur Rehman, and the Chief Minister of the North West Frontier Province (NWFP), Akram Durrani, stayed away from the meeting after seeking postponement on the plea that they had reservations on the structure of the body.

The two members, leading lights of the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA), did not participate even in the Council's inaugural meet. At that time, Gen. Musharraf had taken serious exception to this and hinted at the possibility of `disciplinary action.' However, today he only regretted their absence and said members should take the Council seriously.

"Super parliament"

Opposition parties are unhappy with the Council and see it as a "super parliament" under the military's control.

The MMA, which facilitated the constitution of the body by voting in favour of the constitutional amendments made by Gen. Musharraf, wants the Prime Minister rather than the President to be the Chairman of the Council. They have also been demanding that Gen. Musharraf honour his commitment to shed his uniform by December 31.

The Parliament recently adopted a bill enabling Gen. Musharraf to continue as Chief of Army Staff beyond December 31. However, Gen. Musharraf is yet to give his assent to the bill.

Political observers believe that he is deliberately sitting on it, as he does not want to present an opportunity to the Opposition parties to mobilise public opinion on the issue.

Other items on the Council's agenda included the country's law and order, operations against foreign militants in the tribal areas, progress on major projects, and Balochistan- related issues.

In a related development, Mr. Aziz has said that the atmosphere is right to pursue the peace process with India.

He told Pakistani journalists on board the special aircraft that brought him back here, that the composite dialogue process would yield "satisfactory results."

"We feel that [the] right atmosphere exists and that [the] process of composite dialogue will eventually lead to satisfactory results," he said.

"With India we want peace. We will make progress on all issues. We pursue confidence-building measures but their progress has to be in tandem with the progress on the Kashmir issue," he said.

Mr. Aziz, who visited Sri Lanka and the Maldives as the Chairman of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation, before going to New Delhi, said his visit to Colombo and Male has helped to consolidate Pakistan's relations with the two countries.

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