ISLAMABAD, May 16: Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali on Thursday expressed readiness to hold talks at any level and called for fostering people-to-people contacts, saying that formal talks between Pakistan and India will gradually lead to peace between the two countries.
In an interview with the BBC’s Urdu service, he said: “Peace should come ... Both countries should (foster greater) people-to- people contact.”
Referring to the start of the formal talks, he said: “You cannot just jump up and start talking (about peace) at once. It has to be a step-by-step measure” that should be taken up gradually.
He said that Pakistan is ready to hold talks at any level but “there are issues ... the unfortunate part is having ... hawks on both sides ... of course, more in India than Pakistan ... so there are problems ... we (have to achieve) a consensus at a level where we could take proper and appropriate decisions.”
Mr Jamali said that India and Pakistan had both realized that war was not an option for resolving mutual differences and important issues needed to be settled through dialogue.
In an exclusive interview with the BBC’s Urdu service, the prime minister said that talks were the only way to resolve issues between the two countries. “You cannot fight wars, it (resolution of disputes) has to be (through) dialogue.”
Referring to the country’s Kashmir policy, he said that everyone would have to wait for announcement regarding any new decision regarding changes in the (Kashmir) policy.
Talking about Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s demand that Pakistan should stop its alleged support for the Kashmiri freedom fighter, Jamali said: “We have never encouraged the militants fighting in Kashmir. We have always discouraged it.”
“The moral support has been there, yes, we don’t deny that. But if it’s a fight going on between the Kashmiris and the forces that have occupied (their territory), we have never encouraged that. And I’ll assure you; we’ll never encourage that.”
When asked about the crossing of Kashmiris across the Line of Control, Prime Minister Jamali said, “it’s a very ... porous border. (If) with (all) the might that India has, they can’t seal it off, how can we, in Pakistan ... seal it. There are people, there are volunteers .... at times you just try to talk to people to put some sense into them. But they are not bound by Pakistan, you see. This is the whole point.”—APP
