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Pakistan sees "positive sentiments"

B. Muralidhar Reddy

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Friday welcomed Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's speech at Amritsar, saying it reflected "many positive sentiments," but declined to comment on the offer of a "treaty of peace, security and friendship."

Pakistan Foreign Office spokesperson Tasneem Aslam told The Hindu that Dr. Singh's offer did not pertain to the "immediate future." She said, "On what we have gathered from media reports, Dr. Singh is talking about the need for creation of a climate in which such a treaty could be made as a culmination of the peace process."

On Dr. Singh's observations that it was a "mistake" on the part of Pakistan to link the normalisation of bilateral relations with the resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir issue, Ms. Aslam argued that Kashmir was at the "heart" of India-Pakistan relations and it would be unrealistic to expect improvement in economic ties without resolving that issue.

`Serious challenges'

"We believe the speech reflects many positive sentiments and a strong acknowledgement of the need to move forward on Jammu and Kashmir and other issues. The Indian Prime Minister has also stated that both countries should address the problems like poverty, disease and ignorance.

"We have always stated that the resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir issue can release the full potential of the peoples of South Asia to make progress and fight poverty, disease and ignorance. President Musharraf has also stated that these are very serious challenges facing the nations of this region," she said.

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Pakistan sees "positive sentiments"

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