ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Foreign Secretary Riaz Muhammed Khan on Tuesday said he counted the peace process with India as one of the successes of his Government's foreign policy in 2006 and expressed the hope that the issues between the two countries would soon be resolved. "[The peace process] had a hiccup but then it has been resumed. We hope this process will move forward in the next year, reach some culmination. We have always maintained that the time has come when the two countries should be able to resolve issues [rather] than simply learn to live with them," Mr. Khan said at a Foreign Office briefing here.

President Pervez Musharraf's ideas on Kashmir had generated discourse, and had been discussed at all levels between India and Pakistan, including at "the summit level" but to talk about a breakthrough was "simply premature."

"We hope that as this process intensifies there would be possibilities in terms of various options for articulation of these ideas in more concrete terms for purposes of a solution. We hope that stage through discourse and discussion will be reached sooner than later." Sustained discussions

Pointing out that there had never been such sustained and focussed discussions on Kashmir as in the last two-and-a-half years, Mr. Khan reiterated that Pakistan's "political and moral" position was the right of self-determination of the Kashmiri people provided for in the United Nations Security Council resolutions.

"For a negotiated settlement through bilateral discussions, naturally the efforts are premised on flexibility. Pakistan is prepared to show flexibility provided India also does the same. But the most important aspect in the pursuit of any negotiated settlement is that it must be acceptable to the people of Kashmir, that such a solution must reflect the aspirations of the people of Kashmir, and this is how it will imbibe the spirit of self-determination."

Pranab's visit

External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee's visit to Islamabad in January was primarily to invite Pakistan to the New Delhi SAARC summit in April, but it also provided an opportunity for a Foreign Ministers' level review of the third round of the composite dialogue process, Mr. Khan said.

The two sides exchanged "some ideas" on the Siachen issue at the last round of Foreign Secretary talks in Delhi, and it would be taken up at the next round in February.

"Let's see if we can have further discussions on this particular issue during [Mr. Mukherjee's visit] as well."

Mr. Khan said there was "a serious effort on our part" to resolve the Siachen issue and doing so would be an "important confidence-building measure."

A visit by the Indian Prime Minister was also "on the cards" but the dates were still being finalised.

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