LAHORE, Feb 19: President Gen Pervez Musharraf on Tuesday said that the United States help could quickly reduce tensions between Pakistan and India.

“With the help of US facilitation, the de-escalation in tension between India and Pakistan may take place in May-June,” Gen Musharraf told a gathering of journalists, writers and intellectuals at the Governor’s House.

However, he added: “We have no problem in maintaining our heavy deterrence on our international borders with India.”

Referring to economy, the president said that revival of the economy was the top priority of his government.

“The areas identified are development of agriculture, revival of the small and medium industrial units, information technology and development of the energy sector,” he said.

Development of agriculture, he pointed out, was of paramount importance to the country’s economy because 70 per cent of population, directly or indirectly, depended on this sector.

The country, Gen Musharraf said, was moving in the right direction according to the programme chalked out by his government.

He said the government had worked out a strategy to bring Madaris in the mainstream of the education system so that they could play due role in the nation-building process. The president said that the whole scheme had been formulated to promote sectarian harmony and tolerance besides providing option to the Madressah students to join profession of their choice.

He said there were a lot of opportunities for the Pakistani businessmen in Afghanistan. Trade transactions to the extent of Rs15 to Rs20 million were being executed daily between the private sectors of two countries, he added.

He urged the businessmen to cash on the prevailing situation which Afghanistan had been offering since the emergence of new scenario.

He said Pakistan was reopening its consulates at Jalalabad and Kandahar. Pakistan would also open a number of bank branches in Afghanistan, he added.

The president said that a balance of power among national institutions was required to ensure continuity and stability in the political system.—AFP/APP