June 3, 2003	Tuesday	Rabi-us-Sani 2, 1424

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ISLAMABAD, June 2: Pakistan says that whenever summit-level talks take place with India, these would be held between the prime ministers of the two countries.

Foreign ministry spokesman Aziz Ahmad Khan, Pakistan’s high commissioner-designate to India, was asked at his last news briefing on Monday before he takes up his assignment in New Delhi, about Islamabad’s position on two separate recent statements of Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and Defence Minister George Fernandes, suggesting that Mr Vajpayee would talk to President Pervez Musharraf at the proposed Indo-Pakistan summit.

Mr Khan said he would not indulge in any conjecture on the two reported statements, but as far as Islamabad was concerned, whenever a summit did take place, it would be between the prime ministers of Pakistan and India.

Responding to another question, the spokesman said, “the reality (of a de-nuclearized zone) in the subcontinent” had changed since 1998 after both India and Pakistan carried out nuclear tests and a new nuclear setup had emerged in the two countries. Pakistan had its own nuclear control and command structure which had been “appreciated by others,” he added.

Mr Khan did not directly answer a question whether Pakistan had now ceased to strive for a nuclear-free subcontinent, and said while he could not predict the shape of things to come in this regard, only future discussions would show what changes might take place.

However, he pointed out that the nuclear issue had been discussed by the two sides at Lahore and Agra in 1999 and 2001 as well and surmised that it could come up again as a subject among the issues to be tackled during the upcoming talks.

Asked about his expectations and role as high commissioner to India in the new atmosphere since the removal of the log-jam that had created a diplomatic and political hiatus for nearly a year and a half, Mr Aziz Khan remarked as relations were normalized, “we would like the dialogue between the two sides to progress and pick up pace.”

He expressed the hope that meaningful inter-state negotiations would lead to a resolution of all outstanding issues, including the core issue of Jammu and Kashmir, sparing precious resources of the two countries for amelioration of the welfare of their people.

Mr Aziz Khan said that his schedule for taking up his post as high commissioner was not yet finalized. However, his schedule would not be constrained by the arrival of the Indian high commissioner-designate Shiv Shankar Menon.

Mr Aziz Khan, who acted as Foreign Office spokesman for over 18 months, said he had found his experience as spokesman to be “very interesting” and said he would cherish his contact with news persons.