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Ex-Pak Foreign Minister praises former PM for peace initiative 'Vajpayee had decided to strengthen Article 370' 9/7/2015 11:55:01 PM Early Times Report Jammu, Sept 7: The NDA government led by then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee had agreed to strengthen Article 370 in the back channel deliberations with Islamabad for a possible agreement on Kashmir issue, according to Pakistan's former Foreign Minister Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri. "Strengthening Article 370 and identical measures of self-governance on both sides of Jammu and Kashmir across LoC were one of the measures agreed," Kasuri writes in his book Neither a Hawk Nor a Dove which is yet to be released in India. Kasuri, one of the pointmen on India-Pakistan diplomacy and back channel deliberations, writes that the proposal to strengthen Article 370, rather than abolish it, which was the stated position of the BJP, shows that Vajpayee government in an effort to find peace with Pakistan and leave a imprint in Kashmir, had decided to go away from the party's line and also against the ideology of the RSS. The peace process couldn't materialize as the Sangh Parivar then opposed it strongly. It was one of the reasons that the BJP couldn't come to power again in 2004 as the Sangh Parivar decided not to work for the party as it has started moving away from the stated position and its ideology. "Sangh is committed for the total integration of J&K and Vajpayee government especially his principal secretary Brajesh mishra had started doing things which were not in the interest of the nation as far as Kashmir is concerned and more importantly against the interests of the Jammu and it was not acceptable for the Sangh and that's the reason the party couldn't come back to power from 2004 to 2014," a Sangh leader told Early Times. According to Kasuri, the other points agreed by the Vajpayee government were: 1. Demilitarization: Both sides to reduce military footprints. In first place to withdraw troops from civilian areas. 2. Joint Mechanism: Elected representatives nominated by governments would form a joint body to monitor cross-LoC trade, tour, travel etc. Sources said the Sangh and other leaders were furious over the inclusion of these points as they were against the stated position of India on Kashmir and also that could send the message that India had succumbed to separatists and Pakistan sponsored terrorism as it could be read that India decided to accept peace on the terms of Pakistan after it succeeded in 'bleeding' India.   Share This News with Your Friends on Social Network     Comment on this Story

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