ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Foreign Minister Khurshid Kasuri said on Monday that the attack on board the Samjhauta Express must not be allowed to derail people-to-people contact between India and Pakistan, which he described as the "biggest success" of the peace process.

In an interview here, Mr. Kasuri, who will arrive in New Delhi on Tuesday for the India-Pakistan joint commission meeting on February 21, said the two countries must continue to encourage the contact despite the Samjhauta Express incident, but must learn from the latest incident to ensure safety of travellers.

"Enhanced interaction"

"One of the biggest successes of the peace process has been the enhanced interaction between civil society of both countries and ordinary citizens. In fact, if credit is to go [to someone] they are the people who have sustained this peace process. And if people have understood it that way, people who are opposed to it have also understood it, and they want to destroy that," Mr. Kasuri said.

The Foreign Minister said while the work of the joint commission would remain the primary focus of his visit, he would use the opportunity to discuss how to provide better security for travellers from Pakistan and India in each other's countries.

"There are no words good enough to condemn such incidents. It only tells you that there are people both in India and Pakistan who don't want the peace process. It is in the interests of both countries to find out who the culprits are," he said, adding that it would be best not to start with "preconceived ideas."

"Additional vigour"

Mr. Kasuri said it was important that the peace process now gain "additional vigour", and in this context, he welcomed recent statements by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh after President Pervez Musharraf's put out his four-point formulation on Kashmir.

"There's a positive ring to his statements... that bodes well for the future of the dialogue," Mr Kasuri said.

Aside from attending the joint commission meeting, Mr. Kasuri is also expected to hold a meeting with Minister for External Affairs Pranab Mukherjee, other leaders of the ruling party and of the Bharatiya Janata Party.

Mr. Kasuri will also meet both factions of the All-Parties Hurriyat Conference. Asked about his planned meeting with leader of the hardline faction Syed Ali Shah Geelani, who opposes the peace process as a "sell-out" by Pakistan to India, Mr. Kasuri said he would try to convince him.

"The message I will carry to him is the same as the one that Islamabad has already given him, that the peace process is good, is good for Kashmiris, is good for Indians, good for Pakistanis. If he has doubts, questions, I will try and clear those doubts. After all, he has been a very strong supporter of Pakistan in Kashmir. I want to convince him that it is in the interests of Pakistan, in the interests of Kashmiris, and therefore try to tell him that he throws his weight behind the peace process," Mr. Kasuri said.

The Pakistan Foreign Minister said considerable progress had been made on the Kashmir and Siachen issues, and differences between the two countries on both had "narrowed down".

Mr. Kasuri said the Baglihar verdict was a "ray of hope" that both countries could resolve their differences in a "civilised" manner.

Aside from holding discussions with his Indian counterpart and others on the issues of Kashmir and Siachen, Mr. Kasuri said he would be carrying proposals on liberalising the visa regime and hoped that the two sides would be able to come to an agreement on it soon.

Offer to send special plane

PTI reports from New Delhi:

Pakistan on Monday asked India to allow a special plane to fly here to take back home Pakistani nationals injured in the blasts on the Samjhauta Express.

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