Puppet caretaker government has now started pleading for talks, know what is Manmohan-Musharraf formula?

Pakistan’s new foreign minister Jalil Abbas Jilani has called for reviving the decade-old Musharraf-Manmohan formula to bring peace between the two countries. The Musharraf-Manmohan Formula was formulated in 2006 and envisaged an ambitious effort to bring about peace in Jammu and Kashmir. Jilani served as Pakistan’s Foreign Secretary and Pakistan’s ambassador to important capitals including the US and the European Union. Let us tell you that the plan Jilani is talking about was made during the reign of former military rulers General Pervez Musharraf and former Prime Minister of India Manmohan Singh. He said that this would bring peace between the two nuclear weapon states.

The Musharraf-Manmohan formula envisaged an ambitious attempt at peace in Kashmir, which has been divided between the two countries since independence. Jilani was the Deputy High Commissioner in New Delhi in 2003 when the Government of India declared him persona non grata after finding him guilty of raising funds for separatist activities in Jammu and Kashmir. Sources close to Jilani told The Express Tribune that he was in favor of improving ties with India. The External Affairs Minister told The Express Tribune that improving relations with India depended on the resolution of all outstanding issues, including the long-standing issue of Jammu and Kashmir.

Sources said, Jilani was of the view that Pakistan should explore various options to pave the way for reviving the peace process during the Musharraf-Manmohan era. The Foreign Minister believes that the dialogue between the two countries between 2004 and 2007 can be resumed provided both sides show political will and resolve. That peace process was considered the most sustained effort by the two countries to resolve their age-old disputes, including Jammu and Kashmir.

The back-channel talks between India and Pakistan during that period also became a possible roadmap towards the resolution of the Kashmir dispute at one point of time. It is said that the agreement was to be signed during Manmohan Singh’s visit to Pakistan in 2007. However, General Musharraf suddenly removed the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, which started protests in the country and Musharraf finally had to leave power.