Underlining the need to “bury the hatchet,” the former Pakistan President, Pervez Musharraf, on Saturday said the Kashmir issue - the “root cause which spawns war” - had to be resolved.
He claimed that the Pakistan Army fully backed the peace initiative with India and stressed that all issues had to be dealt with at the same time rather than following a “step-by-step” process.
“We have to resolve this [Kashmir issue]. This is actually the root cause which spawns not only the war or conflict but which spawns Mujahideens and religious militancy in Pakistan,” General (retd.) Musharraf said at the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit here. The issue had to be resolved for the socio-economic development of the people.
ADVERTISEMENT
“It is high time we open our eyes to reality,” the former military ruler, who is now in exile, said, adding that both India and Pakistan need to take cue from Europe.
Four-point formula Gen. Musharraf spoke about his four-point formula for resolving the Kashmir issue, a matter he said was discussed with the former Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
His formula included gradual demilitarisation along the Line of Control (LoC); giving maximum selfgovernance to the two halves of Kashmir; making LoC irrelevant by opening as many routes along the border as possible; and working on an overwatch mechanism.
ADVERTISEMENT