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Joint statement a step towards conflict resolution: Musharraf

Islamabad: Pakistan President Pervez Musaharraf, who returned home on Saturday after his 18-day foreign tour, said the joint statement issued after his meeting with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in Cuba was a "good step towards conflict resolution."

"The joint statement is very important. It is a good step towards conflict resolution," Mr. Musharraf, who arrived here late after his plane developed a technical snag at London, told reporters.

He said he had an important meeting with Dr. Singh on the sidelines of the Non-aligned Movement summit in Havana. After their meeting, India and Pakistan had agreed to set up a joint anti-terrorism institutional mechanism as also to resume Foreign Secretary-level talks.

Mr. Musharraf said his visit to the Belgian capital of Brussels, where he addressed a conference on Kashmir, was also successful. "It is very successful because of the opportunity to meet Kashmir groups. It is very successful in changing the perceptions (of European Union leadership)," he said.

Misperceptions about Pakistan

He said that during his visit to the United States he had interacted with a number of media organisations and think tanks "to change the misperceptions" about Pakistan. He said he cleared misperceptions and gave clarifications about Pakistan's controversial treaty with tribal elders in Waziristan, which Islamabad says was aimed at stopping cross-border infiltration of Taliban militants. He said the U.S. visit "was successful as I have also launched my book - In the Line of Fire - at New York." - PTI

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