"I am for demilitarization (in Kashmir). If they (India) agree to that, we will too," Musharraf told the Saudi newspaper Arab News at the weekend, according to his spokesman Major General Shaukat Sultan.

Nuclear rivals India and Pakistan -- who have fought two of their three wars over Kashmir -- signed a deal early Sunday to open five crossings on the Himalayan region's de facto border from November 7 to aid quake survivors.

"We are very flexible. We are absolutely open to moving forward to the ultimate solution. You cannot clap with one hand, you can only clap with two," the spokesman quoted Musharraf as saying.

Military ruler Musharraf himself originally proposed the opening of the heavily militarized Line of Control around a week and a half after the October 8 disaster, which killed more than 56,000 people in Pakistan and India.

His latest remarks come a year after he first suggested demilitarizing Kashmir, currently split between Pakistan and India and claimed by both, and either placing it under United Nations mandate, joint control or giving it independence.

When asked if he thought the quake could help resolve the bitter dispute over Kashmir, Arab News quoted Musharraf as saying: "This is an opportunity."

But when asked later Monday at a news conference if Pakistan was likely to slash its huge defence spending, Musharraf said that the government was "not even contemplating any defence cut".

"We don't want to do one and jeopardise the other, that would be most unwise," he added, referring to the simultaneous efforts to aid survivors of the quake and maintain Pakistan's defences.

UN Secretary General Kofi Annan is expected to attend a donors' reconstruction conference in Islamabad on November 19, Pakistan's foreign ministry said.

India has pledged 25 million dollars to Pakistan to help provide relief to more than 3.3 million people made homeless by the earthquake, but the two countries have struggled to overcome differences on other aid proposals.

Pakistan and India launched a slow-moving peace process in January 2004 but groups opposed to the peace moves came under suspicion after three blasts killed 62 people in New Delhi on Saturday.

Musharraf Monday promised Pakistan would fully support India's investigation into the bombings, calling them "the most dastardly terrorist attack".

Musharraf told the news conference that India would get "total and unequivocal support from Pakistan in any investigation that India would like to carry out".

"Pakistan stands with India," added Musharraf, who has led a crackdown on Islamic militancy in his country.

earlier related report
Mines Across Kashmir Border To Be Cleared: Indian Army
Srinagar, India (AFP) Oct 31 - Military officials from India and Pakistan are slated to hold talks Tuesday on the clearing of tens of thousands of mines along the de facto border of disputed Kashmir to facilitate earthquake relief, a top army official said.

V.K. Singh, army chief of staff who heads anti-insurgency operations in Indian Kashmir, told AFP Monday that commanders from both sides would attend the meeting at a point along the border called the Line of Control (LoC).

"We have requested a ... meeting and it may take place tomorrow," he said, indicating there had been a positive response from Pakistan.

"It is a pretty difficult task," Singh said. "Some of the mines were laid in 1949 and others have been taken out and replaced with new mines. Some of the mines could have even shifted from the original points."

Anti-personnel and anti-tank mines were among those that needed to be cleared after their deployment across the border regions in Kashmir, claimed by both India and Pakistan.

"The clearing requires a joint agreement and the other side (Pakistan) should not object," Singh said.

Tuesday's likely meeting, at a yet to decided location on the LoC, follows a decision on the weekend by arch-rivals India and Pakistan to open up the heavy militarised LoC at five points to allow the easier flow of relief for quake victims.

Crossing points will be opened indefinitely at Nauseri-Tithwal, Chakhti-Uri, Hajipur-Uri, Rawalakot-Poonch and Tattapani-Mendhar from November 7.

People would be allowed to cross the border on foot because of a lack of available transport.

The LoC had been completely closed since it was established as a ceasefire line in 1949 until April this year, when a trans-Kashmir bus service was relaunched after almost six decades.

The two sides also agreed on the weekend that relief supplies, with prior information and acceptance, could be sent across the LoC and handed over to local authorities at the crossing points.

Kashmir Border deal step forward for India-Pakistan ties: analysts
Islamabad (AFP) Oct 31 -- The agreement to open up the Kashmiri border is a step in the right direction for India-Pakistan relations that will benefit earthquake survivors, even if it has come a bit late, analysts said.

"It is a positive development, it will help people affected by the earthquake on both sides," said political analyst Hasan Askari. "It will also improve the goodwill between the two countries and Kashmiris on both sides."

India and Pakistan agreed late Saturday to an unprecedented opening of the heavily militarised border in divided Kashmir from November 7 to help victims of the earthquake that struck there earlier this month.

"It's an incremental move forward, but in real terms it is more symbolic," Talat Masood, a retired Pakistani general and analyst, told AFP.

The agreement came a week after Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf proposed opening the Line of Control (LoC) to allow the two-way movement of Kashmiris, in a bid to help millions left homeless by the October 8 disaster.

"There are still certain things which need to be improved in the ways people would like. Kashmiris have been allowed to cross the LoC on foot, which means their capacity to carry relief goods would be limited," explained Masood.

More than 54,000 have been confirmed dead in Pakistan, mainly in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, and around 1,300 others have died in the Indian-controlled part of the Himalayan region since the 7.6-magnitude quake.

Masood complained that the move to open the Line of Control a whole month after the worst natural disaster in Pakistan's history was belated, but Askari disagreed, saying such a delay was to be expected.

"The idea came after the earthquake and governments take time to make up their minds. Besides, there are certain (security) concerns on both sides about opening the border," he said.

Kashmiris living in villages on the Pakistani side of the LoC expressed apprehensions Sunday about the complex procedures to get permits to cross the border.

Ghulam Ahmed Bhat, who migrated in 1990 to Pakistani Kashmir from the frontier town of Kupwara on the Indian side, said people should be able to move about freely.

"The decision is good but if difficult procedures are put in place, it would be meaningless and just a cosmetic step," said the 37-year-old.

He said he had tried and failed several times to get a permit to use the landmark trans-Kashmir bus service launched in April this year.

A joint statement issued by the nuclear-armed rivals in Islamabad on Sunday said that Kashmiris would be required to fulfil the same formalities for the new agreement as they do for the bus service.

"It should not be like the way people had it for bus service travel, for which they had to undergo a cumbersome procedure and scrutiny by about a dozen intelligence agencies," Bhat said.

Both sides agreed crossing points would be opened at Nauseri-Tithwal, Chakhti-Uri, Hajipur-Uri, Rawalakot-Poonch and Tattapani-Mendhar for an indefinite period from November 7.

The agreement is unprecedented and the opening is sensitive for India as it accuses Pakistan-based militant groups of fanning an insurgency in its part of Kashmir since 1989.

The deal was announced hours after three blasts rocked the Indian capital New Delhi, killing at least 61 people. A little known pro-Pakistan Islamic militant group, Inquilab, later claimed responsibility for the bombings.

Pakistan "strongly condemned" Saturday's attacks in New Delhi as a "criminal act of terrorism."

Noted Pakistani writer and peace activist Munir Ahmed, known as Munno Bhai, told AFP the Kashmir agreement meant things were slowly improving between the neighbours, who have fought two of their three wars over the territory.

"It is a good development," he said.

Asked why both countries took a long time to reach an agreement, he simply replied, "It takes some time before snow melts and it should melt slowly."

The momentum for peace between the nuclear-armed rivals appeared to have been on the rise since the earthquake more than three weeks ago.

Pakistan has welcomed assistance provided by India for the earthquake victims. New Delhi has pledged 25 million dollars in response to a United Nations appeal for funds.

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