What Musharraf has in mind is to identify a region in Jammu and Kashmir, agree that it be demilitarised and change its status.According to him, Kashmir is one region where geography, ethnicity and religion meet at one point and follow the same lines, no matter how one looks at it. He is confident that once concrete proposals are laid on the table, Kashmiris would step back from their demand for independence. "We will have lawyers for consultations when we come to discuss any concrete proposal. It may take three or four days. But I am sure it can be done in a day if we sit from morning to evening." Sitting in front of his guests in military regalia, he also declared that he could handle the consequences in Pakistan; his mere announcement would be enough. But what about India, he asked.
Do not underestimate us, senior sources would tell him. According to them, Musharraf makes a mistake by assuming that New Delhi's "starting point is the LoC". They also stress that what Pakistan could not wrest through battle would certainly not be wrested through negotiation. "Pluralism and ethnicity are a basis for linkages, not division," says another source.
Soft borders plus more autonomy to Jammu and Kashmir is the best that Musharraf can conceivably hope from the process, say sources. For, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has only agreed to consider options that are consistent with the ground realities and has no intention of indulging in any fresh round of map-making. Clearly, the contours of any autonomy are yet to be discussed. And Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's trip to Srinagar shows that right now the government is bogged in details that fall well short of that target for Jammu and Kashmir.
