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India will never redraw border: PM
November 17, 2004 19:40 IST
In a virtual rejection of Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf's new formula on Kashmir, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday said that India would not accept any proposal for redrawing of international border or further division.
"I have made it clear to President Musharraf that any redrawing of the international border is not acceptable to us. Any proposal which smacks of further division is not going to be acceptable to us," Singh told a crowded press conference in Sringar.
He said India was willing to look at proposals that were on the table but contours of Musharraf's formulation were still not clear.
Musharraf had suggested that India and Pakistan consider the option of identifying some "regions" of Kashmir on both sides of the Line of Control, demilitarise them and grant them the status of independence or joint control or under UN mandate.
To a question whether reduction of troops in the state was aimed at strengthening India's claim for a permanent seat in the United Nations Security Council, the Prime Minister said no world leader has conveyed to him that Kashmir was an obstacle for it.
"I have been to the European Union, the UN where I met US President George Bush... nobody has told me that Kashmir is an obstacle (for India) becoming a member of the UN Security Council," he said.
"India becoming a permanent member in the UNSC is a reflection of the role we play in the world. We represent one billion population... and the fastest growing economy," the Prime Minister said and added that New Delhi deserved a better deal.
Observing that the process of dialogue with the separatist groups in the state has not been derailed, Singh said "we are willing to talk to anybody in Kashmir if they wish to talk to us, we are willing to talk to them without any condition."
Replying to a question, the Prime Minister rejected the contention that India was following the road map drawn by the United States to resolve the Kashmir issue.
"No, as far as I am concerned, our country is concerned, we are doing so out of clear recognition that both of us have an obligation to make serious efforts to resolve all outstanding issues through peaceful and purposeful negotiations," he said.
To a question whether India agreed to the conversion of LOC into a permanent border, Singh said that it was a technical question and "when proposals are put on the table, we will consider that."
To a reporter's question whether the Kashmir issue would be resolved during "our lifetime", Singh said "I am not pessimistic and I am hopeful enough. We have lived through all this.... Who could have thought that the Berlin Wall would fall and Germany would be united. We are making sincere efforts to resolve all oustanding issuses through purposeful and meaningful negotiations."