Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf may be the best bet for a solution to the Kashmir crisis, said former J-K chief minister and People’s Democratic Party (PDP) patron Mufti Mohammed Sayeed. The Mufti, who maintained there was a “possibility of a breakthrough” on Kashmir, said Musharraf was in a position to take steps that a civilian government would take longer to implement. “If anyone can deliver, Musharraf can deliver,” he said during an interaction with The Indian Express here on Saturday.

When asked if India could trust the general, the Mufti said that politics was the art of possibility. He said, “People here say he is the best bet.” Musharraf’s four-point proposal to solve the Kashmir issue has also made the task easier, he maintained.

When former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee extended a hand of friendship, it was not a futile attempt but a step based on ground reality. He said the Pakistan president, too, was someone who knows the ground reality. “They did not get anything from war and then insurgency and that’s why they are talking of a resolution now,” he said.

The Mufti said the “process of reconciliation and dialogue is irreversible”. The Indo-Pak joint anti-terrorism mechanism had also helped in sending a strong signal that Pakistan was serious when it spoke about fighting terror, he said.

“As far as Musharraf and the government (of Pakistan) are concerned, they are cooperating,” the Mufti said, when asked how serious Pakistan was about working towards ending militancy in Kashmir. He, however, hinted that there are still some organisations that might still be supporting militancy.

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