September 17, 2002	Tuesday	Rajab 9, 1423

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NEW YORK, Sept 16: Indian Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee, said on Sunday that the US President George Bush has expressed the hope that a dialogue between India and Pakistan should follow the elections in the Indian occupied Kashmir

Addressing a news conference, which the Pakistani media was banned from attending, Vajpayee said, in the bilateral meeting the US President welcomed the forthcoming elections in Jammu and Kashmir and thought that they would help create a congenial atmosphere in the state and facilitate a dialogue between India and Pakistan.

In the transcript of the news conference, which was obtained by Dawn, the Indian prime minister said, India’s relations with the United States could not remain “Pakistan centric” as had been the case earlier. They have now moved beyond that with major focus on cooperation in various fields and emphasis on reaching an understanding on regional and global issues.

Vajpayee rejected the suggestion that riots in Gujarat provided a handle to Pakistani President General Musharraf to attack India in the United Nations General Assembly adding “he would have done so whether there was Gujarat or not”.

In response to a question about turning the Line of Control into an international border, Vajpayee rejected the suggestion saying that there was no discussion on the subject with Bush or any other leader he met on the sidelines of the assembly session. “There is no question of having any discussion on it. Nor is there any such proposal,” he said.

Vajpayee asserted that the international community and the United Nations Security Council need to do much more to rein in terrorists and to take action against those who finance, support and train them.

Stating that he has information that terrorists, whom the American action scattered, are regrouping again, Vajpayee added the international community needs to keep a close watch on them and take an early action.

Asked whether the United States would help India fight the war against terrorists, just like it was doing against Al Qaeda, the prime minister said the action against the terrorist groups helps in India’s fight against them.

Vajpayee said, Mr Bush, with whom he had wide-ranging discussions, had expressed full commitment to India’s fight against terrorism and condemned the recent killings in the Indian-held Kashmir.

Another area of intensive discussion with President Bush was finding ways to move forward the strategic dialogue between the two countries and remove existing hurdles.

Vajpayee said, Mr Bush and he aimed at laying strong foundations of cooperation between the two countries that would survive them.