27 October 2004	Wednesday	12 Ramazan 1425

ISLAMABAD, Oct 26: Pakistan and India need to show a "spirit of concession" to resolve the long-standing Kashmir dispute, Japanese Ambassador Nobuaki Tanaka said here Tuesday.

"You need the spirit of concession on each side and I am sure (then) there will be some progress," he said in an interview to the state-run Associated Press of Pakistan news agency.

The ambassador's remarks echoed President Gen Pervez Musharraf's views on the need of moving away from the stated positions by Pakistan and India to resolve the Kashmir dispute. However, the ambassador was less optimistic if the two nations continued to show rigidity on their stated positions on the issue which has marred their ties for over half a century.

"Their (Pakistan and India) basic stance (on Kashmir) are wide apart," the ambassador said.

Moreover, he said, resolutions of disputes were always difficult to come by if they had flared up to national sentiments level.

"The politicians have to risk everything, their future and career," in dealing with such issues, he added.

The ambassador, however, expressed the hope that the ongoing composite dialogue would lead to concrete steps for the resolution of all problems, including Kashmir.

"The ongoing (peace) process is very good and we would like to encourage this process very much," he added.

Ambassador Tanaka appreciated President Musharraf for his initiatives to resolve disputes with India.

"He is a very courageous man to do that," was the spontaneous comment by the ambassador on a statement by President Musharraf, he made Monday night in the context of options on Kashmir.

The president, while addressing an Iftar-dinner, called for identifying and then de-militarizing available regions in Kashmir and changing their status as one of the options to the resolution of decades-old dispute.

"We will see how India will respond to that," Ambassador Tanaka said. The ambassador underlined the need for Pakistan and India to resolve their outstanding issues bilaterally.

"Unfortunately, Pakistan and India have not really exhausted their energy on resolving the issues themselves," he observed.

For Mr Tanaka, the international mediation could come only when the two countries had exhausted all means.

Responding to a question, the ambassador said there was a wider agreement on the need for revamping of the United Nations after 50 years of its creation.

Japan is one of the strong candidates who are aspiring for a permanent seat on the UN Security Council.

"The UN was the creation of the World War-II and that kind of legacy has been completely changed after the demise of the Soviet Union, and the Cold War is (now) over," he added.

The ambassador observed that many of the UN actions would not be effective unless they were made and supported by representative nations of the world.

In this context, he said, those countries who were willing to contribute to the solutions of the international disputes have to joint forces to resolve these issues, specially in the UN Security Council.

Advocating his country's case, the ambassador said that country like Japan which was capable and willing to contribute resources for the cause of the United Nations should be eligible for UN Security Council's permanent seat.-APP