September 24, 2003	Wednesday	Rajab 26, 1424

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NEW YORK, Sept 23: US Secretary of State Colin Powell surprised the Pakistan delegation and media when he called on President Pervez Musharraf on Monday evening before a scheduled meeting with US President George Bush.

“Both sides discussed bilateral, regional and international matters, which included South Asia, Kashmir, Afghanistan and Iraq in an atmosphere of candour and warmth,” Foreign Minister Khurshid Mahmood Kasuri said at a press briefing.

Responding to a question, Mr Kasuri said that Mr Powell did not have a specific formula or proposal to resolve Kashmir dispute. However, he observed, the US and other international leaders wanted to facilitate a dialogue between India and Pakistan, but India was resisting it.

He said it was the unanimous view of the international community that Kashmir was a flashpoint and without its resolution normalization of relations between India and Pakistan was not possible.

He also referred to the speech of the French Foreign Minister in the UN Security Council in which he had raised the issue of Kashmir.

On sending Pakistan troops to Iraq, the foreign minister said that President Musharraf had reiterated Pakistan’s position on contributing troops to Iraq, saying that the people of Pakistan did not support Islamabad becoming an extension of occupation force in Baghdad.

President Musharraf has asked for more military and technical assistance from the United States to combat Al-Qaeda and Taliban terrorists in the mountain region of Northwest frontier province. He stressed that without a United Nations mandate and a direct request from the Iraqi people and Muslim nations he would not be able to send troops to Iraq.

OIC: Responding to a question about the issues relating to Muslim nations, Mr Kasuri said that President Musharraf would make concrete suggestions at the coming summit of the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC), so that the organization could overcome inherent weakness and become an effective body.

Mr Kasuri said the President would seek to speak about the issue with the OIC members at a lunche on Wednesday.