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While expressing its strong wish to hold talks with India on all outstanding issues, Pakistani leadership has stressed this week that no talks can succeed unless the Kashmir issue is addressed.
President Pervez Musharraf, in an interview with an Indian television channel on Friday to be telecasted by NDTV on Indian NewsChannel on Saturday night, said that he would be "more than willing" to meet Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and lead the possible peace talks with India.
"Prime Minister Zafarullah Jamali may be a better person for him (Vajpayee) to meet, but if Vajpayee is willing to meet me, I would be more than willing to meet him and lead the talks," Musharraf said.
As for the Kashmir issue, Musharraf stressed that there is no change in Pakistan's position that Kashmir is the core issue between Islamabad and New Delhi. "We can talk of trade and economy and other issues, but no talks will succeed unless the core issue is addressed," the president added.
Musharraf maintained that "the people of Kashmir do not want to be part of India."
He expressed the factual nonconfidence between the two neighbors although they have adopted some measures to pave the way for resumption of dialogue and restoration of their full diplomatic ties downgraded after the terrorist attack on Indian parliament in December, 2001.
"We don't trust you when you say that we should focus on trade.We see it as an attempt to sideline the main issue of Kashmir," Musharraf said categorically while responding to a question.
Earlier this week, Musharraf said Pakistan has always emphasized the necessity of a meaningful and constructive dialogue to resolve the Kashmir dispute and reiterated his country's principled and on Kashmir.
In an interview with Saudi daily Okaz on Wednesday during his one-day visit to Saudi Arabia, the president said Kashmir is a disputed territory and recognized as such by the United Nations.
The principles for the settlement of the dispute embodied in the relevant UN Security Council resolutions expressly state that the final disposition of Kashmir will be in accordance with "the will of the people expressed through the democratic method of a free and impartial plebiscite," Musharraf noted.
Prime Minister Jamali expressed the hope of holding a meaningful dialogue with Vajpayee in the very near future. He on Friday told reporters Pakistan is a peace-loving country and it will continue its efforts to resolve bilateral issues with India peacefully.
Jamali is optimistic about the future talks with India, saying he is an optimistic person and conditions are becoming favorable for talks.
Talking about the process of the possible dialogue, Jamali said there first should be meetings between the foreign secretaries of the two countries, after which the stage will be set for high level talks.
Minister for Information and Broadcasting Sheikh Rashid made it clear that his country will never compromise on vital issues including Kashmir and its atomic assets.
"We are a declared atomic power and will never roll back or freeze our atomic assets," the minister said in an interview with Pakistan TV on Friday.
He affirmed Pakistan will never compromise on the core issue of Kashmir nor accept the LoC as a permanent border between the two countries.
When Pakistani leadership repeated their willingness to have talks with New Delhi, Indian Deputy Prime Minister Lal Krishna Advani, who is well-known for his hard stance toward Pakistan, said on Monday in Washington if Islamabad wants to resume dialogue,it should take concrete steps to end "cross-border terrorism." He arrived in the United States to discuss with the policy makers about the present Indo-Pakistan relations and regional affairs.
It was reported that diplomats at the Indian Embassy in Washington told journalists Advani "took full advantage of his meeting with US president Bush to articulate New Delhi's reservations" about resuming talks with Pakistan.
Since April 18 when Vajpayee made the surprising offer of talks with Pakistan, New Delhi and Islamabad have been moving gingerly toward each other.
They have announced a series of measures to build confidence, however, observers here believe it is no easy work to resume dialogue and improve the bilateral relations without mutual trust and with strong objection from the hard liners in both countries.
(Xinhua News Agency June 14, 2003)
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