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Musharraf Reiterates Resolving of Kashmir Issue
Pakistani President General Pervez Musharraf expressed Wednesday the hope that the Pakistan-India summit talks this weekend will set in motion the much needed process to resolve the important issue of Kashmir that has impaired relations between Pakistan and India for more than 50 years.
He made remarks while addressing the first meeting of the reconstituted National Security Council, according to the Associated Press of Pakistan (APP).
On the occasion, Musharraf reiterated there could be no compromise on Pakistan's principled position that the issue of Kashmir must be resolved in accordance with the wishes of the people of Kashmir.
In an interview with PTV on the same day, Musharraf said, " Kashmir is the core issue. If we will not move forward for its settlement, all the confidence building measures and other related issues between India and Pakistan will not move ahead. This is the main idea."
Musharraf said that he considered initiating a process of movement towards the resolution of Kashmir dispute as "extremely essential also because this is not only my hope but this is also hope of the people of Pakistan."
"I think it is also the hope of people of India and may I also add it is the hope and aspirations of the people of the entire world. The entire world's attention is focused on this dialogue. So I only hope that we achieve progress in the dialogue towards the resolution of the core dispute of Kashmir."
"I will talk to Prime Minister Vajpayee with frankness and sincerity and will highlight the centrality of the Kashmir issue," said the President.
However, he said, expecting solution of Kashmir in his first meeting with Vajpayee would be "premature". But as the process of dialogue would proceed, the talks could go ahead for the solution of the Kashmir issue.
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