CAIRO – A high-level committee appointed by Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is recommending that India gives autonomy for the disputed Muslim-majority Himalayan region of Kashmir, Indian Express reported on Thursday, December 24.
"The matter being 60 years old should be settled once for all," Justice Saghir Ahmad, who heads the Working Group on Centre–State Relationship, wrote in his report.
The committee advised the government to "restore the autonomy to the extent possible."
The Muslim-majority Himalayan region has been divided between India and Pakistan since 1947 after independence from Britain.
The India-controlled part of the disputed region once had a large degree of autonomy over all sectors excluding communications, defence and foreign affairs.
The special status gradually eroded over the past decades with greater control exercised by the federal government.
In 2000 the Kashmir assembly voted in favour of full restoration of the state's autonomy.
But India's then Hindu-nationalist government rejected the measure.
The high-level committee also recommended reviewing the Armed Forces Special Powers Act to decide whether it can be withdrawn from any parts of Kashmir.
Premier Singh appointed the working group in 2006 to try to find a permanent solution to the conflict in the scenic Himalayan region which claimed more than 47,000 lives.
Nuclear rivals India and Pakistan have fought two of their three wars since the 1947 independence over the region.
Mixed Reactions
The committee's recommendations drew mixed reactions.
"It reinforces the importance of our demand," Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said after receiving the report.
He advised Kashmir Law & Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ali Mohd Sagar to "prepare an action plan for its implementation" in consultation with the federal government.
Autonomy has been the main demand of the ruling National Conference, Kashmir's biggest pro-India political party.
The federal government in New Delhi has so far not comment on the advisory panel's report.
But the far-right Hindu nationalist party stoutly rejected the recommendations.
"It is a farce," BJP leader Arun Jaitley told the Daily Pioneer.
"It is not a report of the Working Group because I am a member of the Working Group and the Group was never consulted on this report."
Many of the groups fighting India's rule want Kashmir to become part of Pakistan while others support independence.
Pakistan and the UN back the right of the Kashmir people for self-determination, an option opposed by New Delhi.
"The matter being 60 years old should be settled once for all," Justice Saghir Ahmad, who heads the Working Group on Centre–State Relationship, wrote in his report.
The committee advised the government to "restore the autonomy to the extent possible."
The Muslim-majority Himalayan region has been divided between India and Pakistan since 1947 after independence from Britain.
The India-controlled part of the disputed region once had a large degree of autonomy over all sectors excluding communications, defence and foreign affairs.
The special status gradually eroded over the past decades with greater control exercised by the federal government.
In 2000 the Kashmir assembly voted in favour of full restoration of the state's autonomy.
But India's then Hindu-nationalist government rejected the measure.
The high-level committee also recommended reviewing the Armed Forces Special Powers Act to decide whether it can be withdrawn from any parts of Kashmir.
Premier Singh appointed the working group in 2006 to try to find a permanent solution to the conflict in the scenic Himalayan region which claimed more than 47,000 lives.
Nuclear rivals India and Pakistan have fought two of their three wars since the 1947 independence over the region.
Mixed Reactions
The committee's recommendations drew mixed reactions.
"It reinforces the importance of our demand," Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said after receiving the report.
He advised Kashmir Law & Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ali Mohd Sagar to "prepare an action plan for its implementation" in consultation with the federal government.
Autonomy has been the main demand of the ruling National Conference, Kashmir's biggest pro-India political party.
The federal government in New Delhi has so far not comment on the advisory panel's report.
But the far-right Hindu nationalist party stoutly rejected the recommendations.
"It is a farce," BJP leader Arun Jaitley told the Daily Pioneer.
"It is not a report of the Working Group because I am a member of the Working Group and the Group was never consulted on this report."
Many of the groups fighting India's rule want Kashmir to become part of Pakistan while others support independence.
Pakistan and the UN back the right of the Kashmir people for self-determination, an option opposed by New Delhi.
