Pakistan president Pervez  Musharraf's
recent  proposals  for finding a solution to  the  vexed  Kashmir
dispute with India, surprisingly doesn't have many takers in  his
own backyard, most specifically in Pakistan-held Kashmir.

Leaders  of political factions and even the public appear  to  be
quite  outraged by Musharraf's recommnedation to look at  Kashmir
in  terms  of seven separate administrative units. Even  some  of
Musharraf's  "closest" political allies like Jamaat-e-Islami  are
not amused by his suggestions announced informally last month  to
the  media  while  attending  an Iftar  dinner  hosted  by  Prime
Minister Shaukat Aziz.

For  years, Islamist groups like the Jamaat-e-Islami  have  towed
Islamabad's   line  and  propagated  their  cause  in   Pakistan-
controlled  Kashmir,  but Musharraf's offer  three  unprecedented
proposals  to  resolve the dispute with India on October  25  has
evoked quitea negative response here.

The  suggestions  were:  the  de-militarization  of  Kashmir  and
granting the area autonomous status; putting the disputed  region
under the joint control of Islamabad and New Delhi; and  dividing
certain  parts  of  the  territory between  the  two  states  and
allowing the Kashmir Valley to either become autonomous or be put
under U.N. supervision.

According  to Shabbir Ahmed Abbasi, the leader of  the  Jamaat-e-
Islami in PoK, Musharraf no right to announce the proposals as he
was a dictator not having the mandate of the people of Pakistan.

"A   dictator  who  has  no  mandate  within   Pakistan,   cannot
unilaterally  decide  the  fate  of  Kashmir,"  Abbasi  told   JI
supporters and the media that had gathered recently.

What  seemed to irk Abbasi the most was the carefree  and  casual
manner  in which the proposals were made, without  taking  anyone
into confidence.

"If  you had put the proposals in front of the  Kashmiri  people,
then  Kashmiris on both sides would have taken stock of what  has
gone wrong with the demand of a UN sponsored plebiscite, that  it
needs  to be scrapped. After intra-Kashmiri dialogue,  Pakistan's
Parliamentary  Committee  on  Kashmir  should  have  had  a  full
discussion.  All  parties  in Pakistan are  represented  in  that
committee,  and  these proposals should have been put  to  them,"
Abbasi claimed.

"If  he (Musharraf) had conformed to decorum, then he would  have
taken  the people into confidence. But the manner in which,  like
an  errant  child, he blurted it out at a banquet, as if  he  was
distributing bread. The Pakistani nation does not agree to it and
will not agree to it in the future," he added.

Musharraf's  proposals  have  caused such a  furore,  that  Prime
Minister  Shaukat  Aziz  and Foreign  Minister  Khurshid  Mehmood
Kasuri  had  to repeatedly clarify during  their  visits  abroad,
including during Aziz's recent visit to India, that the proposals
were only meant to provoke a discussion between Islamabad and New
Delhi and other interested parties.

The  Indian Government, however, has said that it is  willing  to
discuss all bilateral issues with Pakistan provided they formally
presented through the accepted and appropriate channels. (ANI)