New Delhi, June 21
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today refuted assertions of his predecessor Atal Bihari Vajpayee on the Indo-Pak peace process being Kashmir-centric, stating that there was no question of India accepting redrawing of borders or a third-party intervention to settle the issues between the two countries.

In reply to Mr Vajpayee’s letter of June 15, Dr Manmohan Singh rejected the contention that the government had mishandled the visit of Hurriyat leaders to Pakistan.

The Prime Minister also made it clear that was no change in India’s stand that the dialogue with Pakistan “is predicated on its (Pakistan’s) commitment to end cross-border terrorism, as outlined in the joint statement of January 6, 2004” issued when Mr Vajpayee was at the helm of affairs.

“The centrality of this position was most recently reflected in the joint statement released after my meeting with President Musharraf,” Dr Manmohan Singh said in his letter of June 20.

The Prime Minister’s letter was released to the media by Mr Vajpayee after informing Dr Manmohan Singh that he was taking this liberty as the “subject of our correspondence is of national importance.”

Dr Manmohan Singh said he would like to emphasise that “there is no room in our discussions — or in our actions — for ambiguity regarding our position on Jammu and Kashmir.”

He said he had also reiterated on every possible occasion that there “can be no redrawing of boundaries. We have also ruled out any role for a third party — either through interventions or as guarantor or as mediators — in any form.”

On the visit of the Hurriyat leaders to Pakistan, he said that Mr Vajpayee was aware of the fact that in the last four or five years, these leaders had regularly met Pakistani dignitaries visiting India, as well as Pakistani diplomats.

“In this background, our government felt that their visit to Pakistan could not do any harm.”

Further, their visit to Pakistan-occupied Kashmir using the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad bus was cleared on the basis of agreed procedures.

“That Pakistan decided to invite them to visit Islamabad and other cities in Pakistan violated an understanding on these procedures that had been reached between India and Pakistan.”

Passports were issued to those Hurriyat leaders who did not possess Indian passports and made a request for the issue of such documents.

“It would not, therefore, be correct to state that the authorities on our side had mishandled the visit of the Hurriyat.”

The Prime Minister said his government had consistently held the view that Jammu and Kashmir had a duly-elected government which came into office after an election that was internationally held to be free and fair.

“We recognise that there are some groups that are outside the electoral process, and the All-Party Hurriyat Conference is one among such groups in Jammu and Kashmir. We are nevertheless willing to enter into a dialogue with such groups, provided they agree to abjure the path of violence. Nothing in our actions in the last 12 months has compromised our adherence to this principle,” Dr Manmohan Singh clarified.

Thanking Mr Vajpayee for his letter of June 15, he said: “We are fully conscious of the issues raised in your letter. It is our endeavour to take the composite dialogue between India and Pakistan forward while ensuring that India’s vital interests are fully safeguarded.”