Pakistan is willing to give up its claim to all of Kashmir if India agrees to a far-reaching self-governance plan for the Himalayan region divided between the longtime rivals, Pakistan President General Pervez Musharraf suggested Tuesday.

While New Delhi and Islamabad have made scant public progress on settling their dispute over Kashmir, officials on both sides privately say advances have been made in so-called "back channel" negotiations, most of them between retired officials from both sides.

Musharraf's remarks Tuesday provided a snapshot of what an eventual solution could look like.

He told the independent New Delhi Television that Pakistan would agree to greater autonomy or self-governance for Kashmir with New Delhi and Islamabad jointly supervising the region. Both India and Pakistan claim all of predominantly Muslim Kashmir.

Asked if Pakistan was ready to give up its claim, Musharraf responded: "We will have to... if this solution comes up."

The dispute over Kashmir lies at the heart of the rivalry between the two nuclear-armed South Asian countries. Two of their three wars since independence from Britain in 1947 have been fought over Kashmir.

Musharraf said that if a solution is to be found, India and Pakistan would have to make compromises and be prepared to give up positions on Kashmir that they have held since 1948, the year their dispute first flared into conflict.

"We are on the same position as we were since 1948," Musharraf said. The two countries "ought to be prepared to give up all that we have been saying," he said.

There was no immediate Indian reaction to Musharraf's comments.

Pakistan Foreign Minister Khursheed Kasuri said last week that "progress" on Kashmir had been made in back-channel talks.

The main features of the possible deal are believed to include opening for travel and trade the heavily fortified frontier between the Indian- and Pakistani-controlled parts of Kashmir and a staggered withdrawal of troops from each side of the region. The actual frontier which neither side recognizes as a legitimate border would not change, and its final status would be left undecided.

Mainstream separatist leaders in India's part of Kashmir, who have long pushed for a political solution to the region's problems, have in the past said they favor a plan along the lines outlined by the unofficial talks. They also want India to declare a cease-fire with the militants.

Accepting a plan like the one proposed by Musharraf would be a major departure for both Pakistan and India.

Islamabad has previously insisted a referendum be held in all of Kashmir to determine the region's future and whether the region should be part of India or Pakistan.

New Delhi, meanwhile, says Kashmir is an integral part of India and has resisted moves to redraw its borders.

In Tuesday's interview, Musharraf said Pakistan would give up its demand for a plebiscite if India agreed to more autonomy for its part of Kashmir.

(China Daily December 6, 2006)