Singapore: Rejecting Pakistan's insistence on a referendum in Jammu and Kashmir,
Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani on February 5 said granting Independence to people
on religious, ethnic or regional lines would lead to disintegration of the country.
"There is no question of a referendum. If a referendum is given on ethnic, religious
or regional lines...the consequences can be disintegration of the
country," he told reporters winding up his three-day visit to the city-state.
Hypothetically, he said, if both India and Pakistan decided to go for a referendum
Pakistan would disintegrate with people in Sindh, Baluchistan and North West
Frontier Province also demanding the same.
In reply to a question, he also made it clear that New Delhi would not allow peace
to be held hostage to the differences with Pakistan.
The issue of tensions on the Indo-Bangladesh border also came up at the press
conference and the Deputy Prime Minister asked Bangladesh to co-operate in reducing
tension by taking back the illegal immigrants.
Asserting that Jammu and Kashmir was "historically, legally and constitutionally" a
part of India, Advani said the people of Jammu and Kashmir had decided in 1947 to
remain with India and representatives of the J and K constituent Assembly had
decided that they would go with India.
PTI
