Joined by an idea

For the very reason that various leaders of Pakistan, including Pervez Musharraf, have often proposed 8216;joint management8217;, the Indian side would reflexively reject it. Both its context and content, however, make the PM8217;s proposal on 8216;joint development8217; across the Line of Control in J038;K very different from the notion of 8216;joint management8217;. The idea of a condominium 8212; a form of shared jurisdiction over a piece of territory by two or more sovereign states 8212; is a well-established principle of the Westphalian system of international relations and at the source of many Pakistani proposals for the 8216;joint management8217; of Kashmir. In the PM8217;s idea of settling the J038;K dispute, there is neither an exchange of territories nor a pooling of sovereignties. It does call for substantial political autonomy for both parts of J038;K within the ambit of Indian and Pakistani statehood and converting the contested LoC into an open, peaceful and cooperative frontier.

The most innovative of PM8217;s proposals has been the one for 8216;cooperative, consultative mechanisms8217; between the divided parts of Kashmir. Manmohan Singh8217;s latest suggestion on the joint exploitation of J038;K8217;s resources begins to define the kind of missions that these consultative mechanisms might undertake. Cooperative institutions across the dividing line in J038;K do not

violate the sovereignty of either India or Pakistan. They merely facilitate in J038;K a long overdue cross-frontier cooperation that is so common in today8217;s world. The PM8217;s people-oriented approach to settle the J038;K dispute deserves strong support.

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