Pakistan Makes Offer to India
On Settling Kashmir Dispute

President Pervez Musharraf's proposal to abandon Pakistan's claim to Kashmir suggests that support for a peace deal with India may be increasing among Pakistan's military leaders, even at the risk of antagonizing the country's powerful Islamic parties.

Mr. Musharraf's proposal, made in an interview with New Delhi Television, appeared to bring Pakistan and India into sync on an issue that has been the greatest source of conflict between the two nuclear-armed neighbors, both of which have claimed control of the entire Kashmir region. India and Pakistan have fought three wars, and skirmishes have persisted across a "line of control" that divides Kashmir.

Mr. Musharraf's proposal was roughly in line with what the Indian government sought: to transform the "line of control" into a de facto border and give the Himalayan region greater autonomy. He proposed to do so on the condition that both sides gradually withdraw troops, allowing a new body backed both by Pakistan and India to administer Kashmir.

Asked if Pakistan was prepared to give up its claim to Kashmir if his conditions for more autonomy were met, Mr. Musharraf responded: "We will have to, yes," according to an abridged transcript published on New Delhi Television's Web site.

An official of India's External Affairs Ministry said India may not respond to Mr. Musharraf's remarks until the interview is broadcast in full this weekend.

If it comes, the response is likely to be cautious, say analysts. One reason: Indian officials remain skeptical about Pakistan's willingness and wherewithal to stem the flow of Islamist militants, many of whom come from the Kashmir region, Indian officials say. In the abridged interview transcript, the Pakistani leader makes no mention of how to deal with Islamist militants.

Mr. Musharraf, a former military chief of staff who seized power in a 1999 coup, has battled Islamic insurgents and held off democracy advocates at home. He has also become a crucial ally of the U.S. administration in its war against terrorism and presided over a galloping economy that is expanding trade links with other countries, including India.

To stay on that course, Pakistan's top military commanders are inclined to support Mr. Musharraf's proposal, said Hassan Askari Rizvi, a Pakistani defense and security analyst. "The generals have greater stakes in the country's economy and view peace with India as essential to the economic progress," he said.

Islamabad previously insisted on a referendum to decide the future of the disputed state. Pakistan's army is stacked with junior officers who sympathize with the agenda of Islamists, who haven't wavered in claiming all of Kashmir.

Jamaat-i-Islami, Pakistan's most powerful mainstream Islamist party, has already rejected Mr. Musharraf's proposal.

Write to Peter Wonacott at peter.wonacott@ wsj.com²