... If all concerned (parties) to the Kashmir problem honestly and meaningfully decide to address its basic cause, violence can end.

The state of Jammu and Kashmir ... stands bifurcated and is under the possession of India and Pakistan, Both challenge one another's de jure or de facto right of possession of the state.

... Both these countries are parties to the dispute. The people of J&K are the subject matter of this dispute ... They are the basic party to the dispute.

Their right to decide about their future stands admitted both by India and Pakistan and is also ratified by the UN. As such, India, Pakistan and the people of Jammu and Kashmir are the three parties concerned with whose concurrence the Kashmir dispute can be settled once and for all.

... Why should there be any doubts about Hurriyat's representative character now? The Hurriyat will have to be involved in any dialogue on Kashmir.

... Today elections in Jammu and Kashmir are stage- managed by India. However, any question can crop up and certainly be discussed during the dialogue and this issue can be taken up then ..

Pakistan is a benefactor of Kashmiris ... to the extent that it supports the ... right of the people to decide about their future. India, on the other hand, says no such right exists ...

The freedom struggle is an indigenous movement of the Kashmiris and the issue is to be settled through dialogue with them. In a tripartite dialogue, whatever solution is agreed upon by the three parties to the dispute will be acceptable to (the Hurriyat).

.. Kashmir dispute cannot be settled militarily ... in the changed global scenario ... Dialogue is the only way out and not the use of force, more so in underdeveloped countries like India and Pakistan. They will have to behave in a more responsible manner as they need to keep in mind that they are nuclear powers now ... As Clinton said: "Redrawing the boundaries of the countries through blood was not possible".

The State of Jammu and Kashmir is not home to only one religious or ethnic group. It has three distinct regions with different cultural, linguistic. and religious backgrounds. Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh. If anything is decided about their future way of life, it will have to be decided through consensus through representations of all three regions ... having full regard to the wishes and aspirations of every group. It is rather unfortunate for the people of India that their successive governments have shied away from playing their true role in the global politics and it has involved itself in the complicated Kashmir issue which has put the leadership always in defensive position ... (Source: The Times of India, 8 April, 2000)