Lahore: Former President of Pakistan Asif Ali Zardari has said that Benazir Bhutto, former Pak PM and Rajiv Gandhi, former Indian PM wanted to amicably solve the Kashmir issue, reported the Press Trust of India.
He added that it couldn’t happen as Rajiv was assassinated during a election campaign. He also claimed that Pervez Musharraf, the former Army chief of Pakistan had come up with a ‘India friendly plan’ for Kashmir, however other generals didn’t agree to it.
“BB (Benazir Bhutto) sahiba had spoken to Rajiv Gandhi in 1990 who agreed to resolve the Kashmir issue amicably. Rajiv told Benazir that during the last 10 years no one including Gen Zia from Pakistan spoke with us on this issue,” Zardari said at a Kashmir rally here last evening.
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“He (Rajiv) admitted that Kashmir was an important issue and should be resolved. Rajiv said he would take up this issue with Pakistan after coming to power but he was assassinated (in 1991),” the former president added.
Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated while campaigning for the Congress party candidate in Sriperumbudur on May 21, 1991. The Pakistan People’s Party co-chairman further said that no other government except PPP took up this issue with India. After Benazir, it was PPP’s previous government (2008-13) that had taken up the Kashmir issue with the then Indian prime minister Manmohan Singh.
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Zardari said Musharraf’s (India friendly) plan on the Kashmir issue was rejected by other generals.
“I have a copy of that secret plan of Musharraf on Kashmir. When Musharraf presented that plan before other generals they left the room,” he said.
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He said ousted prime minister Nawaz Sharif cannot talk on the Kashmir issue even in his Muzafarabad (Pakistan Administered Kashmir) rally as he is a friend of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“A friend of Modi cannot talk on Kashmir. Sharif was rightly ousted from the prime minister house for betraying Kashmiris,” he said.
