If Indira Gandhi, at the height of her political glory, could make an offer on the LoC becoming the international border, what is wrong in looking at this issue as a talking point, at the very least ?... In reality, no government in Pakistan can survive if it accepts the LoC as the permanent international border between the two countries. The polemics on this issue is therefore unnecessary

With the status of Mutual Assured Destruction ...having come to stay, is the Kashmir issue thereby frozen? It is not, and on the other hand, it has become dangerous with grave possibilities ..

... (Such) perceptions should not be brushed aside as alarmist or motivated ... Having worked up the passions of the people and the armed forces for many years on the Kashmir issue, Pakistan may indeed go to any desperate level without bothering about the very serious consequences which would result when India retaliates.

Since Pakistan is insisting that the Kashmir dispute is the core issue and asking for third party mediation, it is unlikely to remind a bilateral affair.

Mercenaries from West Asian countries and Pakistan, apart from local militants, are spread all over the J&K ... It is becoming more and, more a cruel and dirty war with the Pak-operated mercenaries indulging in ruthless killings of ordinary people ...

Internally, right across the country, the Pak ISI has systematically raised agents, trained them, equipped them with arms and explosives and let them remain as dormant agents to be activated at a given signal. Internal security is a serious problem ... The ... situation can turn explosive any time, to coincide with some serious development in J&K.

India should therefore seriously consider the various alternatives, including offers of mediation. Oslo-type discussions etc., and find a peaceful solution acceptable to both the countries. India need not wait till a solution is thrust upon it and Pakistan by the Security Council ... The Kashmir dispute should not dictate the destiny of the entire nation, and the welfare and future of the people of the entire country should be given more importance ...                                                                               (Source: The Hindustan Times, 17 July, 1998)