'The Root Cause Of Tension ...
Is The Unresolved Jammu And Kashmir Dispute'

The much awaited letter finally arrived. Musharraf's reply to Vajpayee's offer of lastweek was delivered to the indian foreign secretary Chokila Iyer in New Delhi by thePakistan High Commissioner Ashraf Jehangir Qazi. Unlike Vajpayee, who, in his invitation, avoided any reference to contentious issues,Musharraf, in his reply to the prime minister, was direct and to the point:

"Excellency,

Thank you for your letter of 24 may 2001.

I accept your invitation to me and my wife to visit India, with great pleasure.

Pakistan has always sought to establish tension-free and cooperative relations withIndia, so that our two peoples may be able to devote their resources and energies to thetask of economic and social development. We wish to see a stable and prosperous India atpeace with its neighbours.

At the beginning of the new century, our two countries must do their utmost to overcomethe legacy of distrust and hostility, in order to build a brighter future for our peoples.

The root cause of tension between our two countries is the unresolved Jammu and Kashmirdispute. I, therefore, look forward to sincere and candid discussions with you to resolvethe issue of Jammu and Kashmir in accordance with the wishes of the Kashmiri people. Weare ready to discuss all other outstanding issues between our two countries as well.

Please accept, Excellency, the assurances of my highest consideration.

General Pervez Musharraf

His Excellency Mr. A B. Vajpayee,
Prime Minister of Republic of India,
New Delhi

Reacting to the letter, an external affairs ministry spokesman said "we are gladthat the Chief Executive of Pakistan has very kindly accepted prime minister Atal BihariVajpayee's invitation to him to visit India". Dates for the visit will be finalisedthrough mutual consultations, he said.

The General, however, had spoken extensively to BBClast night in his first interview since Vajpayee's letter inviting him to India where he'dindicated that any date after June 20 would be okay by him, after admitting that the Indian move had come as a surprise and that he could not explainIndia's unconditional offer of a dialogue, but that he applauded it nevertheless.

TheGeneral was also generous and gracious in praising Vajpayee "for hisstatesmanship, his vision and his courage and boldness towards accepting a reality andstarting to address an issue which has bedevilled relations between our two countries. SoI really sincerely appreciate whatever the Indian prime minister has done."