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PAKISTAN: MUSHARRAF TO WILLING TO GIVE UP KASHMIR December 6, 2006
Zainab Osman
(SomaliNet) President Gen. Pervez Musharraf said Tuesday that Pakistan is willing to give up its claim to Kashmir if India reciprocates and agrees to self-governance in the disputed Himalayan region that they have fought over for decades.
There was no immediate reaction from India's government, and Musharraf's spokesman accused NDTV of "twisting" the president's comments to suggest that Pakistan was making a unilateral offer to give up its claim to Kashmir.
The Islamic state of Pakistan and majority-Hindu India both control parts of Kashmir, a predominantly Muslim region in the Himalayan Mountains, which was divided between them during partition of the subcontinent on independence from Britain in 1947.
In his interview, Musharraf was asked if Pakistan was willing to give up its claim to Kashmir if India also agreed to self-governance in its part of the divided region. He replied, "Yes, we will have to if this solution comes up."
However, the president denies that he said Pakistan is unilaterally ready to give up Kashmir to India.