Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf here Thursday said the people of Pakistan were deeply dismayed by the reported desecration of the Holy Quran at Guantanamo Bay prison by US interrogators and called for full inquiry to bring to justice the perpetrators of this "shameful" act.

During his meeting with US Assistant Secretary of State for South Asian Affairs Christian Rocca, who arrived here Wednesday on a three-day visit, Musharraf expressed satisfaction with the ongoing bilateral economic, defense and security cooperation, according to the Associated Press of Pakistan.

He noted that the relations between the two countries had acquired a strategic dimension on which to build a broad-based and long-term Pakistan-US relationship.

He highlighted the efforts of Pakistan to counter terrorism and extremism in the country. He called on the United States to provide greater market access for Pakistani products.

With regard to the regional situation, Musharraf noted that the Pakistan-India relations had made good progress. However, he stressed that the Jammu and Kashmir dispute remained the core issue that needed to be addressed urgently.

Musharraf urged Washington to continue to encourage New Delhi to take advantage of the improved situation and move towards a solution to the Kashmir dispute in the interest of durable peace and stability in the region.

Rocca assured Musharraf that the US government was investigating the alleged desecration of Holy Quran and those responsible would be held accountable.

She reiterated President George W. Bush's commitment to a long- term bilateral relationship with Pakistan and underlined that the US government was engaged in broadening and deepening the Pakistan- US engagement.

Rocca expressed US appreciation for Pakistan's support to the international campaign against terrorism and said Washington was desirous of expanding bilateral trade and was working at helping Pakistan gain better access in the US market.

On the Pakistan-India dialogue, Rocca said the US government was appreciative of Musharraf's efforts to promote peace and stability in the region and that the United States would continue to support the ongoing Pakistan-India peace process.

During his talks with Rocca on Thursday, Pakistani Foreign Minister Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri also conveyed the strong sentiments of the people of Pakistan on the alleged desecration of the Holy Quran and called on the United States to conduct a comprehensive inquiry.

Kasuri also justified Islamabad's desire to import gas from Iran, saying that Pakistan's economy was now growing at a rate of more than 8 percent and this necessitated looking for more avenues of energy supply. "It is in this context that Pakistan is exploring various gas pipeline projects including the Iran- Pakistan gas pipeline," Kasuri said.

Rocca Thursday discussed different facets of Pak-US relations and cooperation between the democratic institutions with Pakistani parliamentarians.

In separate meetings with Pakistani National Assembly speaker and Senate chairman and heads of parliamentary groups, Rocca discussed ways to have increased bilateral cooperation in all spheres.

Source: Xinhua