Islamabad (AsiaNews/BBC) - Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf has called for a radical new approach to the dispute with India over Kashmir. He said Pakistan's traditional demand for a referendum was impractical while India's bid to make the Line of Control a permanent border was unacceptable.
President Musharraf suggested options including a re-division of the region and greater involvement of the UN. "I strongly believe there are options and there is a solution," he said speaking to diplomats and reporters in Islamabad. "For the first time we see light at the end of the tunnel."
The general told his audience that he had "never spoken like this before to anyone". Calling for a national debate in Pakistan, he said there had to be a "change of status" for Kashmir, which is currently split into parts administered by Pakistan and India.
The old princely state of Jammu and Kashmir comprised seven regions different from each other on the basis of religion, ethnicity and geography. Two are now on the Pakistani side and the other five are under the control of India.
He listed several options for a settlement: the whole area could be demilitarized and made autonomous; it could be put under the joint control of the two countries; some parts could be divided between the two countries and the Kashmir Valley would either become autonomous or be put under UN supervision. Pakistan and India have gone to war twice over Kashmir in 1948 and 1965.