‘Kashmir solution by year-end’

He said he believed that the Kashmir issue could be resolved ‘‘most likely’’ by the year end.

Hitting out at political ‘‘opportunists’’ in Pakistan who tried to raise doubts in the minds of the people that he was heading for a sell-out on Kashmir, he said anyone compromising on the Kashmir issue and missile programme would be a ‘‘traitor’’ and he would prefer to leave power instead of doing so. Musharraf said he decided to address the Assembly to make a detailed presentation on the events leading to a thaw in Indo-Pak ties and the talks agreement between the two countries.

Referring to a host of confidence building measures (CBMs) initiated by both countries, Musharraf said the CBMs would not be of much help if the dialogue on Kashmir made no progress. About his comments in an interview that Pakistan was ready to drop the demand for UN resolutions on Kashmir, he said he was quoted out of context.-(PTI)