Twenty political leaders who attended a meeting convened by Pakistan President Gen PervezMusharraf today extended their full support to him for his summit talks with Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
The meeting was boycotted by the mainstream 19-party Alliance for Restoration of Democracy (ARD), whichincluded PPP and PML (Nawaz) of former premiers Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif respectively.Politicians who took part in the five-hour meeting assured Musharraf of their "fullest support in his endeavoursto solve the long-standing issue of Kashmir and prayed for his success, their domestic differences notwithstanding," thestate-run APP news agency said.
During the meeting, Musharraf asserted that in his talks with Vajpayee on July 15 Kashmir would be the coreissue and everything else would follow it, the agency said.
Advertisement
"The Line of Control (LoC) is the problem and could not be interpreted as a solution to the problem ofKashmir," Musharraf was quoted as saying by APP.
Both PPP vice president Mukhdoom Fahim and ARD chairman Nawabzada Nasurullah Khan boycotted themeeting, which was attended by Pakistan's third largest party Mutahida Quami Movement andJammat-e-Islami.
Two of the pro-military leaders of the PML, the speakers of the dissolved National Assembly and Senate alsoattended the meeting.
PPP and PML said their boycott had noting to do with Musharraf's July 14-16 visit to India. They said theirprotest was against Musharraf's "illegal and unconstitutional" step to assume presidency.
Advertisement
According to APP news agency, Musharraf told the leaders attending the meeting that he was "encouraged bytheir sense of patriotism and commitment to the cause of Kashmiri people." Cricketer-turned-politician andpresident of Tehreek-e-Insaf party, Imran Khan, said after the meeting that Musharraf told the leaders that hewas going to India with an open mind and without any specific agenda.
"All the leaders who attended the meeting extended their full support to Gen Musharraf. After all Kashmir isthe main irritant between the two countries and once it is solved the two countries could divert their energies todevelop trade and political relations," he said.
Imran said extension of support by the political parties should not be construed that they were endorsing the"military dictatorship" in the country.
"We have our differences with the government but we are united on the issue of Kashmir and GeneralMusharraf's summit meeting with India," he said.
Imran said the military regime should not have interfered with the process of democracy in the name oferadicating corruption.
