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Kashmir solution ‘within reach’

* Musharraf tells UN Pakistan cannot accept N-discrimination
* Border problems compounded by Afghan refugees

By Khalid Hasan

UNITED NATIONS: President Gen Pervez Musharraf told the UN General Assembly on Tuesday that a resolution of the Kashmir issue is “within reach”, and expressed confidence that his meeting with the Indian prime minister in Havana would help carry the peace process forward.

“Pakistan wants a peaceful environment in the region,” and has been engaged in a peaceful process with India aimed at confidence building and resolving issues, including the issue of Jammu and Kashmir, the president said in his address to the 61st session of the General Assembly.

Gen Musharraf said a stable security environment is important for peace in the region. Pakistan, he added, had proposed the creation of a strategic restraint regime in South Asia. “We do not want to enter into an arms race. But we will do whatever is necessary to preserve the credibility of our minimum defensive deterrence level.”

He also emphasised Pakistan’s need for nuclear power, while declaring that “we cannot accept discrimination in the nuclear field,” a veiled reference to the Indo-US nuclear cooperation deal.

Gen Musharraf said that peace and stability in Afghanistan is in Pakistan’s interest, as it would allow the country to realise its ambition of linking Central Asia and South Asia through Afghanistan and Pakistan. “Afghanistan confronts complex security, political and economic challenges including a resurgent Taliban who also threaten Pakistan’s efforts against extremism and terrorism. The common challenge imposes a joint responsibility on Pakistan, Afghanistan and the coalition forces,” he added.

The president said that problems along the regions bordering Pakistan and Afghanistan were compounded by the continuing presence of over three million Afghan refugees, “some of them sympathetic to the Taliban”.

Gen Musharraf said Pakistan was at the frontline of the global campaign against terrorism and cooperating daily with many countries including the US and UK.

He said, “Our cooperation has pre-empted several terrorist plots, such as the one uncovered recently to blow up airliners flying from London. Over the past five years, Al Qaeda has been significantly degraded as an organisation. While we confront terrorism, our strategy must seek to eliminate this phenomenon comprehensively. We cannot do so unless we understand and address the root causes of terrorism today. How are terrorists able to find willing recruits even among educated youth in advanced and democratic societies?”

He said that old and new conflicts had spawned a deep sense of desperation and injustice across the Muslim world. “Unless we end foreign occupation and suppression of Muslim peoples, terrorism and extremism will continue to find recruits among alienated Muslims in various parts of he world,” he added.

“We also need to bridge, through dialogue and understanding, the growing divide between the Islamic and Western worlds. In particular, it is imperative to end racial and religious discrimination against Muslims and to prohibit the defamation of Islam. It is most disappointing to see personalities of high standing oblivious of Muslim sensitivities at these critical moments,” he said, in an apparent reference to remarks made by Pope Benedict.

He said it was time for Israel to end its disputes with its neighbours, particularly the Palestinians. “There is no doubt in our mind that this is the core of the challenge, not only to overcome the Iraq and Afghanistan problems, but also to deal with the menace of terrorism and extremism.”

The president also addressed the nuclear issue that has led to a confrontation between Iran and the West, saying he supported talks to resolve the issue. “Resort to coercion and, worse, the use of force, could lead to grave consequences, regional and global,” he said.

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