Pakistan ... bases (its) claim on the rationale of Partition. India ... refutes this claim by Pakistan and forwards its own constitutional and legal claims on Kashmir ...

Both sides sweep aside the long history of Kashmir and its neighbouring regions. Both the borders and society in Kashmir have kept changing through the different periods. This was partly a result of invasions, occupation and migrations. In history there is nothing sacred about such changes. And changes could be brought about today also though the means and methods of discussion and through a process of give and take, allowing for factors on the ground; including the aspirations of the people now resident in Kashmir.

It is necessary for all the parties concerned to keep in mind the appalling costs over Kashmir so far in resources and in human live, ... the astronomical costs of the wars between India and Pakistan. Both the countries have limited resources. There is also the fact that the violence between the two countries has become a potent brutalizing factor for the people of both. It is a cost which the present generation on both sides should not bequeath to the coming generation. (Sourcer The Pioneen 17 july, 2000)