Gilani hopes meeting with Singh 'positive', Qureshi raises

Rezaul H Laskar

Islamabad, July 3 (PTI) Pakistan Premier Yousuf Raza
Gilani Friday hoped his upcoming meeting with his Indian
counterpart Manmohan Singh in Egypt will be "positive" even as
his foreign minister upped the ante saying peace in the region
cannot be discussed without the resolution of Kashmir issue.

Gilani said the meeting on the sidelines of the July
11-16 Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) summit in Sharm El-Sheikh
would be an opportunity to strengthen bilateral ties. The
meeting is likely to take place on July 16.

Pakistan wants to maintain friendly relations with all
its neighbours, including India and Afghanistan, Gilani told
reporters while voicing the hope that the outcome of his
meeting with Singh on the margins of the meet in would be
"positive."

The meeting with Singh would be an opportunity to
strengthen relations between the two countries, he said.

Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi told
reporters at the Multan airport, "Kashmir issue can't be kept
out of the bilateral talks."

"We can't discuss peace without (settlement of) Kashmir
issue."

Qureshi said the world has come to accept that "Kashmir
is disputed."

He also asked India to "sympathise" with Pakistan's fight
against terror as its army is fighting Taliban in the troubled
northwest region bordering Afghanistan.

The minister's comments came a day after the Pakistan
Foreign Office spokesman claimed that the "very fragile"
situation in India's northern state of Jammu and Kashmir
cannot be tackled through administrative and political
measures as suggested by India's Home Minister P Chidambaram.
PTI RHL
RAI
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