21 August 2004	Saturday	04 Rajab 1425

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ISLAMABAD, Aug 20: Foreign Minister Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri has said that the peace process with India has been moving forward successfully.

Talking to newsmen in the parliament house lobby on Friday, he said that in the first phase the 8-point secretary-level composite dialogue had been completed on a satisfactory note as both the countries had taken 'positive' stance on contentious issues.

The foreign minister said that in the next phase of composite dialogue he would meet his Indian counterpart in New Delhi on Sept 5-6. The proposed meeting, he added, would take stock of the situation in the wake of the talks held so far and set lines for continuation of future negotiations.

He said President General Pervez Musharraf would meet Indian Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly session in September. Mr Kasuri expressed the hope that the two leaders would take steps to take forward the ongoing process of building confidence between the two countries and help find ways to resolve the core issue of Kashmir.

"Such sidelines meetings always prove helpful in defusing tension and creating a congenial atmosphere for furtherance of bilateralism," he stressed.

Referring to recent statements from various circles about Kashmir, he said "for Pakistan this issue is very important, because it is a major source of tension between the two countries. We would like to see that it is resolved to end the prolonged acrimony with India."