Kashmir must be on agenda, says Musharraf

By B. Muralidhar Reddy

ISLAMABAD, JAN. 9 Pakistan has once again made it known that there will be no talks with India unless Kashmir is on the agenda.

The assertion of the Pakistani Chief Executive, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, at Amman on Monday, was consistent with the position that Kashmir is the main source of tension and has to be the core issue in any dialogue between the two countries.

Gen. Musharraf, currently on a tour of West Asia, reiterated his position on a dialogue with India while addressing the members of the Pakistani community in Amman.

The settlement of Kashmir issue was necessary for the improvement of relations between India and Pakistan. The repeated offer of ``talks anytime, anywhere and at any level'' has always been punctuated with the condition that Kashmir would have to be the centre of such talks.

The December 2 formulation of Pakistan gave an impression in some quarters, that by agreeing to the proposition of allowing the All-Party Hurriyat Conference to hold talks separately with India, Islamabad had changed its stance. But Pakistan made it clear that it had no objection to separate meetings of the APHC leaders with India and Pakistan as long as it led to tripartite talks.

On his arrival in Syria, Gen. Musharraf expressed the hope that India would soon agree to Islamabad's repeated calls for a purposeful dialogue to settle the Kashmir dispute and other bilateral issues.

``Our recent decisions to exercise maximum restraint and unilateral pull-out of troops along the Line of Control in Kashmir were designed to create an environment for the resumption of a dialogue for a peaceful settlement of Kashmir. It is our earnest hope that the international community would use its influence and urge India to respond positively,'' he was quoted as saying.

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Section  : International
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