The Kashmir Dispute: A Plan for Regional Cooperation

Abstract

India and Pakistan should negotiate to convert the existing line of control into a permanent international border, and hold an internationally supervised plebescite in the Kashmir Valley to grant the people the right of self-determination. This solution is more appealing in the context of building a regional community. If the idea of regional community is taken seriously, the Kashmir dispute would require a new meaning. Instead of fighting over it, India and Pakistan may designate Kashmir as the first cooperative zone in the new subcontinent.

Keywords: Kashmir, India, Pakistan, SAARC, line of control