From: gnreddy@cbnewsf.att.com (G.Narotham Reddy)
Subject: No shift in Islamabad's policy on Kashmir - Pak Foreign Secretary
Organization: AT&T
Date: Mon, 17 Aug 92 21:53:22 GMT

Source    : CGI
Date      : Aug 17, 92
Countries : India and Pakistan

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New Delhi: Aug 17: India Monday expressed reservations over the Pakistani
proposal to start talks on the Kashmir problem exclusively under
article Six of the Shimla agreeemnt as it did not deal with the 1972
accord  'in totality'.
	Article Six invoked by Pakistan relates to a heads of state
meeting at a convenient date and meetings of representatives to find
among other things 'a final settlement of Jammu and Kashmir'.
	Islamabad's proposal was contained in a letter from Pakistan
Premier Nawaz Sharif to his Indian counterpart P.V.Narasimha Rao which
was delivered by the visiting foreign secretary Shahryar Khan.
	Rao told Khan that the suggestion would be considered and an
appropriate response would be conveyed to Sharif.
	The Indian side emphasised during the foreign secretary level
talks which started at South Block Monday afternoon that "it is not
possible to isolate individual articles of the Shimla agreement" and
"the accord had to be viewed in its totality".
	The spokesman emphasized that the Indian side conveyed that in
the first place discussions under the aegis of the Shimla Accord
implied an exclusive commitment to bilaterism and eschewing efforts to 
internationalise questions of bilateral interest.
	Sharif's proposal came within three days of his invitation to
Rao to visit Islamabad for a summit meeting.
	The Pakistani foreign secretary underlined that Pakistan's 
commitment to the Shimla agreement did not mean any dilution of its 
adherence to the UN resolutions.
	Khan told the Prime Minister that the two were not mutually
exclusive.
	The spokesman said Nawaz Sharif's letter should be seen in
its proper context to ascertain if purposeful discussions could be
held in order to resolve this matter.
	Pakistan considered the Shimla agreement as a framework for
the mechanics of a dialogue with India and there should be no
misunderstanding that it would forego its adherence to the UN
resolutions on the Kashmir problem, Shahryar Khan said.
	Khan's courtesy call on Rao lasted 30 minutes and the first
round of talks two hours. There will be three more round of talks
spread over the next two days. The two sides are expected to sign a
convention banning the use of chemical weapons and memorandum of
understanding of code of conduct for diplomats.
	Khan said article one of the Shimla agreement recognised 
"overriding importance" of the UN charter as a means towards a peaceful 
settlement of disputes.
	He said it was therefore erroneous to interpret Pakistan's
desire for a dialogue on the Kashmir issue within the framework of the
Shimla agreement as a "reunification" of relevant UN resolution
regarding this dispute. The pakistan foregin secretary said the two
sides discussed the entire gamut of bilateral issues, including
Kashmir.

Pakistan, he said, believed that Kashmir was the "core" issue which
had bedevilled relations between the two countries for the past four
decades and that its resolution would lead to early resolution of all
other issues between the two countries.

Responding to a question on whether Islamabd wanted plebiscite on
Kashmir on the Indian side or the whole of it including POK, he said
the isse was 'plebscite in entire Kashmir'.
	To another query, he said there was difference of opinion in
the two countries over the interpretation of Shimla agreement.
	The Pakistan diplomat did not agree that the talks would
"flounder" since there had been no shift in the known positions of the
two countries on Kashmir.
	
* Pak hopes India would respond positively to talks on Kashmir

New Delhi - Aug 17: Stating that there was no shift in its policy on
the northern state of Kashmir, Pakistan Monday hoped that India would
respond positively to its proposal for holding meningful bilateral
discussion on the Kashmir under Article Six of the Shimla agreement.
	The article stipulates that a final settlement of the Jammu
and Kashmir needs to be discussed between the two sides.
	Addressing a press conference at the Pakistan High Commission
here, the Pakistan foregin secretary said it was Islamabad's view that
the U.N security council resolutions calling for a plebscite in
Kashmir "remain vaild".
	"Pakistan does not regard the Shimla agreement and the UN
security council resolutions as being mutually exclusive", he said
adding that there was no shift in Islamabad's policy on Kashmir.

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