Pak hopes meetings with India to lead to resumption of CD

Rezaul H Laskar

Islamabad, Aug 6 (PTI) Pakistan Thursday said it was
hopeful that the upcoming meetings with India would lead to
progress in resumption of the Composite Dialogue to discuss
outstanding issues, including the "long-simmering" Kashmir
problem.

Pakistan is in consultations with India to finalise a
date and venue for a meeting of the Foreign Secretaries of the
two countries, Foreign Office spokesman Abdul Basit said.

After their meeting, the Foreign Secretaries would report
to the Foreign Ministers before they meet on the sidelines of
the UN General Assembly in New York in September.

Pakistan is hopeful the upcoming meetings will result in
"some progress in resuming the Composite Dialogue process,"
Basit told a weekly news briefing here.

Referring to the issue of Kashmir, he said there was a
"realisation in India" that the long-standing problem needs to
be resolved to usher in lasting peace in the region. The
matter also involved the Kashmiri people and their "right to
self-determination" cannot be denied "endlessly", he added.

"We look forward to the resumption of the Composite
Dialogue so that the long-simmering Kashmir issue is
resolved," Basit said.

He also said India and Pakistan could not shift from a
paradigm of conflict to cooperation unless there is a "mutual
willingness to resolve disputes and problems."

"The two countries must sit together, (show a) mutual
willingness to settle problems and take hard decisions," Basit
said.

Basit said Pakistan and India are moving in the "right
direction" following meetings between top leaders of the two
sides.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Pakistani
counterpart Yousuf Raza Gilani had met last month on the
margins of the NAM summit in Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt. Their
meeting came a month after Singh and Pakistan President Asif
Ali Zardari held talks in Yekaterinburg in Russia on the
sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) meet.

Replying to a question, Basit said the launch of India's
first nuclear-powered submarine last month was "not a very
happy development."

Pakistan had expressed its concerns in this regard as it
did not want the region to get "bogged down" in an arms race,
the Foreign Office spokesman said.

At the same time, Pakistan is cognisant of its security
requirements and would do all that is needed to maintain a
credible minimum deterrent, Basit said.

In response to several questions on Pakistan's concerns
about alleged Indian interference in Balochistan province,
Basit said this issue was discussed by Gilani with Singh
during their meeting in Sharm el-Sheikh last month.

Pakistan's concerns were reflected in the joint statement
issued after the meeting, he said. PTI RHL
AM
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