Pak wants Kashmir out of anti-terror pact

Dampening the Havana spirit of the joint mechanism on terror, Pakistan today sought to keep the militancy in Jammu and Kashmir out of the ambit of the joint anti-terror mechanism.

However, that did not stop India and Pakistan from agreeing on a slew of confidence building measures (CBMs) like the launch of a Kargil-Skardu bus service and an early meeting on the Siachen issue.

At the end of two-day foreign secretary-level talks here, Pakistan proposed some new cross-LoC confidence building measures, including cross-border sports activities and launch of Srinagar-Muzaffarabad helicopter and postal services.

However, also for the first time since the two countries agreed to set up a joint working group on tackling terrorism in Havana last September, Pakistan openly expressed its opposition to discussing the violence in Jammu and Kashmir within the confines of the mechanism.

Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon's Pakistani counterpart Riaz Mohammad Khan said Jammu and Kashmir was "disputed" and should not be "mixed" with the initiative, which was between India and Pakistan.

Islamabad is said to be averse to discussing the violence in the Valley under the auspices of the joint working group while New Delhi is keen that the issue cannot be delinked from the problem of terrorism faced by India.

Yesterday, Menon had said that any act of terrorism on Indian soil has to be tackled by the working group.

Khan emphasised that Pakistan was keen on resolving all issues, including Jammu and Kashmir. He wanted demilitarisation in the state as it would raise the "comfort level of Kashmir"and was linked to the solution of the problem.

"Demilitarisation (in J&K) is a good idea but this is functionally linked to the situation on the ground," Menon said, responding to a question.

Emphasising that demilitarisation would depend on end to the threat of violence, he said, "We have the responsibility to protect lives of our people."

Noting that India was keen to resolve the Kashmir issue, Menon said, "There is political will at the top leadership level" to take the relations forward.

"We are engaged in intensive dialogue on Kashmir and it is our intention to resolve it," he said, noting that the two countries have never had such sustained and focussed discussions on the issue.

Khan underlined the need for moving from "problem and dispute management to dispute resolution" and insisted that "because of lack of political will, we are prevented from crossing the hurdles. We need to seize the opportunity."