26 October 2004	Tuesday	11 Ramazan 1425

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ISLAMABAD, Oct 25: Pakistan has said that the next cycle of talks scheduled to begin in the latter part of next month will include discussions between the foreign secretaries of India and Pakistan and their senior aides on "the most difficult issues - issues relating to Kashmir , peace and security", towards the end of December 2004.

Responding to a question at his weekly press briefing here on Monday, Foreign Office spokesman Masood Khan recalled that until two years ago, when there was an atmosphere of confrontation, the subcontinent was on the verge of a war that could have escalated to the nuclear level as was apprehended at that time "but we came back from a dangerous precipice". And now "we have engaged each other across the table and are talking to each other".

"We have indeed completed one cycle of talks; and (now) we are going to the next cycle which will have two tracks of confidence- building measures and the other is that we have to talk on the most difficult issues relating to Kashmir peace and security and others," Mr Khan observed.

But the spokesman cautioned: "we should neither be despondent nor euphoric, we should be realistic; it is a painstaking process which requires statesmanship and vision, it requires investment of time an energy and that is precisely what had been done" and declared Pakistan reiterates its commitment to the dialogue process.

Mr Khan, however, sought to correct any misinterpretation about what he had stated and said that any assumption as if the issue of Jammu and Kashmir had been resolved was not correct; otherwise, he said, it would be a big story "and you (media) would have hosted a special programme".

"No, Kashmir issue has not been resolved," he underscored. "But we have to move in that direction," he stressed.

Responding to other questions, the spokesman expressed dismay over a New Delhi press report saying that the Indian authorities had decided to restrict travel on passports issued in the Indian-held Kashmir and bar holders of such passports from travelling to Pakistan, while the senior officials of both the countries are going to discuss 'all issues' concerning a proposed bus service on the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad route across the Line of Control in a meeting in New Delhi on Dec 7-8.

Mr Khan said that putting such a restriction on Kashmiris' passport was discriminatory and not in harmony with the spirit of the ongoing composite dialogue and the mutually acceptable confidence-building measures. Such a restriction, he added, would send a wrong signal to travellers to Pakistan, particularly from Kashmir.

He, however, said he hoped that the passport restriction and other relevant issues would be discussed in the forthcoming meetings and the December talks between the foreign secretaries which would be expected to wrap up the second round of dialogue on outstanding issues. The spokesman did not give the date for the meeting of the foreign secretaries but a New Delhi press report on Monday said the parleys would be held on Dec 21- 22.

About the 'environment' of the Pakistan-India dialogue since the Jan 6, joint statement after summit-level talks between the two sides in Islamabad and ensuing discussions at the ministerial and official levels over the past several months, the spokesman said these had helped to create "the environment and the right political considerations both at the national and international levels" and added there could be a genuine dialogue between India and Pakistan for resolving all outstanding issues, particularly Jammu and Kashmir.

But, he said: "Right now we have just begun a process, it is a difficult process. We have to move towards the achievement of our goal with resilience."

Mr Khan further stated: "Right now India and Pakistan are engaged in serious negotiations. We have completed one cycle of talks, we would inaugurate (from November 29) the next round and let us hope that India and Pakistan will sort out all differences and resolve issues which have divided us for such a long time. "International intervention/intercession is important but we must understand that the parties have to agree to a solution and then implement it. And that is what we are doing right now."

He said that Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz would go as the current Saarc chairman to India next month but both countries had agreed to announce the dates later.

Answering another question, the spokesman said Pakistan wanted the violence in the IHK to come to an end as violence could not be tolerated. He recalled that speaking as chief guest at the UN Day observance at an international event on Monday, he had lauded the UN efforts to prevent a third world war as 'a colossal interface' between world governments and international society.

He said the UN had to its credit of pronouncing itself on the Kashmir issue debated in the forum for the last five decades; but, he regretfully observed, its decision had not been implemented. The people of Pakistan and the Kashmiris, however, looked at the UN as "a symbol of hope and justice", Mr Khan added.