Pakistani Information and Broadcasting Minister Sheikh Rashid Friday said the Indians should immediately release the Kashmiris detained in jails as a new confidence building measure (CBM).

"There should be new CBMs on Kashmir such as instant release of all those people detained in the India-held Kashmir and free access to the media of the entire region," Rashid told a private television channel.

Rashid believed that the issue of Kashmir would get settled in near future vis-a-vis the prevailing global conditions. "This is a changing world order, wherein golden opportunities have been opened for the resolution of both the issues of Kashmir and Palestine," he said.

Rashid said the start of a bus service in the divided Kashmir in early April would open new avenues of communication between the people of Kashmir on both sides of the Line of Control (LoC).

He suggested that the Kashmiris from the other side of the LoC be allowed to bring their fruits and handicrafts to the markets in Pakistan and the Pakistan-held Kashmir.

Rashid said the economic condition of the Kashmiris in the India-held Kashmir had been deteriorating for the past years and the mutual trade would provide them relief.

Source: Xinhua