Explain remarks on Pakistan breakthrough: Jaitley to PM
Country should know if India softened stand on Jamp;K during back-channel talks.
The BJP on Saturday demanded that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh should take the country into confidence over his claim that an important breakthrough was in sight on the issue of Jammu and Kashmir with Pakistan.
The PM revealed for the first time that secret envoys from India and Pakistan had almost arrived at a meeting to resolve the conflict on Kashmir. When a breakthrough appeared in sight,General Pervez Musharraf had to make way for other leaders and the agreement got blocked. What was this possible resolution on Kashmir? The people of India are entitled to know an answer to this question, Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley wrote in signed article posted on his website. He expressed surprise that a few years ago when Musharraf was living in exile in London he had given a similar indication.
The PM,in response to a question at Fridays press conference,claimed that the breakthrough could not move further after the regime in change in Pakistan.
Jaitley demanded clarifications from the PM to set the record straight whether Indias stated positions were secured during that negotiations leading to potential breakthrough. Since the PM for the first time informed the nation that a resolution on Kashmir was almost agreed to,it is eminently desirable that he takes the nation into confidence of the specifics he had in mind about the failed solution, Jaitley said,underlining that Track Two diplomacy is not an unknown phenomenon. It is an accepted instrument world over. But Track Two diplomacy cannot be at complete variance with the stated national position.
He sought to remind that Indias stated position has been that Jamp;K is an integral part of India for which Parliament,in 1994,had passed a unanimous resolution,asserting that POK was an integral part of Indias territory along. Jaitley pointed out that Pakistan had been advocating an interim resolution on Kashmir comprising several unacceptable measures and requested the PM for a clarification whether any of Pakistans views were accepted by the Indian side for the claimed breakthrough.
I do not know if any or all of these were a subject matter of the almost arrived at resolution to the Kashmir problem. I hope the truth is otherwise. I further hope that I do not have to wait for the memoirs of the Prime Minister to know the truth, Jaitley said.
The Leader of Opposition also took a dig at position of Congress,National Conference,PDP and separatists in the state: The Congress stands for separate status,the National Conference advocates pre-1953 status,the PDP talks of self-rule,separatists talk of Azadi. Each of these is intended to dilute Indias sovereignty.
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