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India, Pak likely to come out with joint statement

Tara Shankar Sahay in Agra

India and Pakistan are likely to come out on Monday with a joint statement in which both of them will accommodate each other's views on the crucial issue of Kashmir, a top official of the Prime Minister's Office said on Sunday.

"I think India is likely to concede that Kashmir is a disputed territory, while Pakistan will acknowledge that cross-border activity (read terrorism) in the state has to be reined in," a PMO official told rediff.com.

"While the joint statement by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Pakistan President General Pervez Musharraf is likely to underscore this new momentum in their talks in the ongoing Agra summit, the wordings might be different," the official pointed out.

He said that both sides after carrying on the talks on Sunday evening decided to meet again on Monday to give finishing touches to the joint statement.

He left little doubt that although both New Delhi and Islamabad 'tested each other' when Musharraf began his discussions on Kashmir with Vajpayee, it dawned on the two leaders that their mutual desire to break new ground during the Agra summit would go unfulfilled if they stuck to their earlier rigid stand.

"That was when Vajpayee and Musharraf resolved that their talks would have to continue despite the ostensible intractability of the Kashmir issue. They gave each other sufficient indication that that they were willing to make a marginal climb-down on Kashmir for the continuation of their dialogue," the official asserted.

According to the resultant quid pro quo being worked out by government officials of the two sides, India would drop its objections of Kashmir being a disputed territory and in return Pakistan would acknowledge that the activities of the militants in Kashmir would have to be stopped.

"This new initiative by the two sides doesn't politically hurt each other and both the prime minister and the president are well aware of it, which is why they have agreed for it," he pointed out.

Significantly, the ministry of external affairs spokeswoman Nirupama Rao told a large crowd of reporters in Agra that Sunday's talks between Vajpayee and Musharraf was held in a 'very cordial atmosphere in a frank and constructive manner'.

Indo-Pak Summit 2001: The Complete Coverage

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