Nor, indeed, can the fact be irrelevant that the regions of J&K--'AzadKashmir' and the Northern Areas--which have been occupied by Pakistan for overhalf a century, have witnessed a complete denial of human and political rights,as of all vestiges of development. The mere fact that the aggressor in aparticular case is unwilling to relinquish his claim cannot create moral orlegal grounds for the rightful possessor to relinquish or dilute hisentitlement.
This, however, is precisely what Musharraf is proposing, and he is not alone inthis logic. In recent years, terrorists, their various advocates, and theirsponsors in different theatres have repeatedly advanced the thesis that the only'solution' to terrorism is that its victim-societies offer its perpetrators someconcessions - and much of the liberal democratic world has bought into thisargument, with devastating impact on political will in the free world.
The potential consequences of this policy of appeasement, and of Musharraf's'options for control' of the various 'demilitarized regions' need to be examinedin some detail, particularly in view of the fact that Musharraf's proposalsbuild on or echo several 'solutions' that have been doing the rounds over thepast years, including the Kashmir Study Group (KSG) formula, and some loose talkof an 'Andorra solution', and the fact that these various formulae have beeneagerly embraced by many among the weak-willed and weak-minded among theregional and global leadership.