Islamabad, pti:
In what is seen as a significant shift in its stand, Pakistan on Monday said it never claimed Jammu and Kashmir to be its integral part and that the dispute is about the “aspirations” of Kashmiris.
“First of all Pakistan does not claim Kashmir. The Kashmir dispute is about the aspirations of Kashmiris,” foreign office spokesperson Tasleem Aslam told a media briefing here.
“Pakistan never claimed Kashmir to be its integral part. What we said is Kashmiris should be able to decide their future. We hope they would opt for Pakistan,” she said.
Her remarks drew angry reactions from presspersons who persistently asked on what basis Pakistan could say that it has never claimed Kashmir and what happened to slogans like Kashmir banega Pakistan (Kashmir will be part of Pakistan), to which she replied “it was essentially coined by Kashmiris and not by Pakistan”.
Kashmiris’ say
Clarifying that President Pervez Musharraf, in his interview to NDTV, has not stated that Pakistan would give up its stand on Kashmir unilaterally, Ms Aslam said as per UN Security Council resolutions “Pakistan and India are parties to this dispute and Kashmiris have essential say to decide their future”.
Ms Aslam denied there was any shift in Pakistan’s stand, saying even the country’s successive constitutions since independence never claimed Kashmir as a part of Pakistan. When a journalist referred to her remarks as a “new stand”, she shot back saying, “Which new situation? Do we say that Azad Jammu and Kashmir (as PoK is referred to officially) is part of Pakistan. AJK has its own president and prime minister.
If we have been claiming it as part of Pakistan, you would have had a chief minister there. You do not need any other proof that we have not made any territorial claims on Kashmir. We respect the wishes of Kashmiris,” she said.
“Please study Pakistan’s historical position from 1947 to this day,” Aslam said, adding that Pakistan had not wanted “any forced union and claim that territory.”
Final settlement
Asked about Musharraf’s proposals for demilitarisation, self-rule and joint management to resolve the Kashmir issue, she the President talked about a final settlement that was acceptable to all stake holders — Pakistan, India and the people of Kashmir.
“Once you have a settlement that is acceptable to all the parties, naturally that would be your new position. So where is the conflict?”
Same position
“We have not given up our position. Our legal position is the same. I said we never claimed Kashmir to be an integral part of Pakistan. We have always said we would respect the wishes of Kashmiris.”
About a “third option”, which sought independence for Kashmir, Ms Aslam said, “I cannot comment on that. I do not want to be prejudging the outcome of a settlement that may actually take place.”
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