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Menon calls on Kasuri, discusses bilateral ties

By B. Muralidhar Reddy

ISLAMABAD AUG. 19. The Pakistan Foreign Minister, Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri, has said that Pakistan and India should move forward to address issues that had strained their relations and to find a peaceful solution to the Kashmir issue.

He was talking to the High Commissioner of India to Pakistan, Shivshankar Menon, who called on him at the Foreign Office here. This was the first formal meeting between the two after Mr. Menon presented his credentials to the President, Pervez Musharraf, on August 9.

"As sovereign and equal States, it is important that both countries move forward with determination to address the whole range of issues that had strained their relations and find a peaceful solution to the Kashmir issue," Mr. Kasuri told the Indian envoy.

Neither the Minister nor Mr. Menon appeared to have referred to the serious allegations levelled by the Pakistan Foreign Office spokesman on Monday about Indian operated terror camps across the Line of Control (LoC).

Diplomatic and political observers here are intrigued over the `blow hot blow cold' strategy employed specially by the Pakistan Foreign Office spokesman in recent weeks.

For instance, on Monday, on the one hand Islamabad proposed technical level talks for resumption of the rail link and on the other accused India of training terrorists to destabilise Pakistan.

In the last few weeks in every press encounter the spokesman has been accusing New Delhi of indulging in "State-sponsored terrorism" in Jammu and Kashmir. His typical expression has been "India must roll back its policy of terrorism in the valley."

The Foreign Minister welcomed the Indian High Commissioner and reaffirmed Pakistan's firm determination to improve relations with India.

Mr. Kasuri stressed that with the "political will on both sides," it would be possible for both the countries to improve relations that would contribute towards a better future for the people of the two countries.

The Foreign Minister said that Track-II contacts had contributed to building expectations and hope.

He, however, cautioned that it would be difficult to sustain the momentum generated by Track-II, without initiating a composite dialogue at the official level as soon as possible.

Mr. Menon expressed India's desire to improve relations with Pakistan.

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