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Journalism of Courage
In what is being seen as a significant gesture and a ‘‘concession’’ to India, Pakistan said today that it would not allow the part of disputed Kashmir it rules to be used for terrorist activity.
Although it then couched this statement in its usual rhetoric on Kashmir and possible war, analysts said the reference to Pakistan-occupied Kashmir is crucial since this is the first time that Islamabad has made a public commitment not to permit terrorist activities even from this region.
Pakistan’s classical position so far has been a very convenient one, that PoK isn’t part of the country—it’s ‘‘autonomous’’—and that Islamabad is responsible only for what goes on in the mainland. It has cynically used this fig leaf to distance itself from terrorist activity from PoK targeted at India.
A government statement released after a joint meeting of President Pervez Musharraf’s Cabinet and the policy-making National Security Council (NSC) said Pakistan would continue its ‘‘moral, political and diplomatic support’’ to what it called the Kashmiri struggle for self-determination.
‘‘The meeting particularly emphasised that the government will not allow the territory of Pakistan or any territory whose defence is the responsibility of Pakistan to be used for any terrorist activity anywhere in the world,’’ the statement said.
Analysts in Pakistan said the move could help defuse tensions. ‘‘This is the biggest concession Musharraf could have made in the cause of peace,’’ said Najam Sethi, editor of The Friday Times. ‘‘Basically Pakistan has given an assurance to the international community directly and to India indirectly that it will not allow cross-border infiltration of jehadis into Kashmir,’’ he said.
Another analyst, Ayaz Amir, said: ‘‘In different circumstances, Pakistan would never have thought of saying anything which could be interpreted as an attempt to appease India.’’
