The Hindu Business Line : Blank wall

THE Pakistan President, General Pervez Musharraf, seems to have had no trace of self-doubt when he asserted in categorical terms at Kuala Lumpur, on June 13, on his way to Australia, that the Kashmir dispute was capable of being resolved in "two weeks" if only there was the will to discuss the options with the determination to reach a conclusion.

Fixing a problem that has persisted for more than half-a-century in "two weeks" will be nothing short of a miracle, considering that the known options bump into the blind spots of one side or the other.

Line of control as an international border is out as far as General Musharraf is concerned.

Redrawing of India's boundaries is out as far as Dr Manmohan Singh is concerned.

Further, India cannot agree to any course that infringes the solemn resolution unanimously passed by Parliament calling for recovering the territory of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

India is firmly set against any third-party intervention and mediation in arriving at a solution, while Pakistan is not averse to it.

If the leadership of either country swerves from any of its repeatedly declared positions, it will immediately be accused of betraying national interest and throwing their respective countries into turmoil.

Another complicating factor is that none of the parties or groups in either country has the undisputed credentials to arrogate the right to speak for the people of Jammu and Kashmir as a whole.

By a process of elimination, holding a referendum emerges as a viable option.

Many countries have been resorting to it to decide momentous issues, witness the recent referendum held by France and the Netherlands on the European Union Constitution.

It provides an honourable way out, since it directly involves the people vaulting over parties, groups and vested interests.

In the case of J&K, however, India has been taking the stand that by their very participation in elections to the Assembly and Parliament, the people of the State have time and again signified their willingness to abide by the Constitution, making a separate referendum unnecessary.

With every solution in sight ruled out by one or the other side, both countries are up against a blank wall.

Can it be pulled down in two weeks?

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