05 September 2004	Sunday	19 Rajab 1425

ISLAMABAD, Sept 4: The prospect of peace in Kashmir will remain dim unless and until Pakistan and India come closer to each other, says former chairman All-Parties Hurriyat Conference, Mirwaiz Umer Farooq.

"We do want better relations and good understanding between these two countries", Farooq told a television channel.

At the same time, he said, the APHC believed that if there was any solution possible to the Kashmir conflict, it was not possible without the inclusion of the people of Jammu and Kashmir.

He said the APHC welcomed improvement in bilateral ties between the two countries.

The Kashmiri leadership, he said, had no concern whatsoever so far as other issues between India and Pakistan were concerned, adding but when it came to Kashmir, there had to be a representation of the people of Jammu and Kashmir.

If the people of Jammu and Kashmir were not involved in the process, it would be a futile exercise as it had been happening in the past, he said.

He said discussions had been held between Pakistan and India in a good atmosphere in the past but the outcome was zero.

Right from Agra summit, it was the third time that foreign ministers of the two countries were meeting, two summits were held during the past four years but there had been no concrete movement forward on the Kashmir issue, he said.

"We have seen an improvement in bilateral relations between India and Pakistan. We have seen improvement in commerce, culture, cricket ties. We have seen exchange of trade delegations but we have not seen any real development vis-a-vis India and Pakistan coming any closer to decide the future of Jammu and Kashmir", he said.

He said the only guarantee to sustain the improving trend in relations between Pakistan and India was a solution to the Kashmir dispute in accordance with the wishes of the Kashmiri people, adding it was Kashmir every time on which everything got stuck up.-APP