Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf declared on Monday that he was making the Line of Control irrelevant, as Pakistan and India took the historic decision to open up the LoC on five points to facilitate post-earthquake interaction between Kashmiris on either side.
In an interview with Arab News published on Sunday, Musharraf said, "We should open the LoC. There was a phrase once used by the Indian leadership ... let's make the LoC irrelevant. I am making it irrelevant."
Calling for the early opening of these points, he said the two countries should try to make travelling in Kashmir easy.
On the Kashmir dispute, he said there must be discussions between India and Pakistan, involving Kashmiris, that will lead to results.
"I am for those results...The opening of the LoC is an opportunity," Musharraf said, adding "We are spending too much on the military and I favour demilitarisation in Kashmir."
He said if India agree upon demilitariation, Pakistan will also be willing to do so.
"We are very flexible and absolutely open to moving forward to the ultimate solution," he stressed.
Musharraf disagreed that Pakistan had haggled over the LoC opening issue, which had originally come from New Delhi.
"It is unfortunate to hear that Pakistan haggled on this issue. Pakistan has been haggling on only one issue -- Indian military personnel coming across the LoC. On no other issue has Pakistan haggled," he said., adding that India could send any amount and quantity of relief assistance for the thousands of quake-victims in Pakistan and Kashmir.
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