Venkat replies: Do India have any proposal regarding kashmir issue? Against Musharraf's proposals of 'demilitarization' and 'self-rule'

Arpita Anant replies: Musharraf’s four-point formula which was articulated in 2006 suggested that there would be no change in boundaries while allowing for free movement of people across the LoC; a phased withdrawal of troops; self-governance or autonomy for the region; and a joint supervision mechanism involving India, Pakistan and Kashmir. While there were some indications that the two countries were close to an agreement on these proposals, no concrete agreement could be reached. In the meantime, in 2008 a democratically elected Government of Pakistan came to the helm of affairs. Shortly thereafter, talks between India and Pakistan stopped in the aftermath of the Mumbai attacks in November 2008. An attempt to resume these talks was made in 2010 with the visit of the Home Minister P. Chidambaram to Pakistan, followed by the meeting between the Foreign Ministers of the two countries in July 2010. However, on 30 June 2010 Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi clearly stated that Musharraf’s four-point formula was “his thinking” had not been endorsed by the Parliament or Cabinet. Since the formula was thus rejected by the democratic government in Pakistan, an Indian response to it is not necessary. Moreover, any proposal regarding the Kashmir issue is also unlikely to be articulated unless the ‘trust deficit’ between the two countries is bridged.