03 November 2004	Wednesday	19 Ramazan 1425

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ISLAMABAD, Nov 2: Pakistan said on Tuesday that different options were being explored by both Islamabad and New Delhi to resolve the Kashmir issue , but no agreed formula had yet been found.

Speaking at his weekly press briefing here, Foreign Office spokesman Masood Khan said that Pakistan's policy on Kashmir remained unchanged and there would be no backtracking.

However, the spokesman called for mutual flexibility and the need for creating a new environment for settling the outstanding dispute.

"There is a need for moving forward and resolving the dispute which requires flexibility, sincerity and boldness from both Pakistan and India," he added.

Referring to a statement made by President Gen Pervez Musharraf at a recent meeting, Mr Khan said the president did not present any new solution. The president had only urged the media to initiate a debate on all possible options for resolving the Kashmir dispute as it could work as a catalyst in carrying forward the debate.

The president intended to solicit views of various shades of public opinion in order to assess their will and determination for a peaceful settlement. The president called upon media to initiate an inter-active debate and try to assess what the public opinion was. There should be no misgivings about Pakistan's principled position, Mr Khan said.

The spokesman said that during the New York meeting between President Musharraf and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly session, the two leaders had agreed to explore all possible options on the Kashmir issue. President Musharraf had talked about identifying regions, demilitarizing them and altering their status, he added.

"One must understand the principle that the two nations are trying to resolve a complex issue like Kashmir issue and nothing is agreed until everything is agreed," he stated.

The spokesman said the president's intention was not to allude to any specific risk but to express the will and determination that 'we want this issue to be resolved'. "Words such as 'vision', 'statesmanship', were not empty words; when you use these words you are looking ahead. You want to see what the state of Jammu and Kashmir would be in five years from now. And ten years from now how would South Asia shape up," he said.

"Media can act as catalyst in carrying forward this debate and make it productive and as robust as possible under the circumstances," he added.

The spokesman said that recently President Musharraf had a direct telephone talk with the Indian prime minister and that 'back channels' were also active. Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz is due to visit New Delhi soon in the course of his current tour of Saarc countries as the current chairman of the regional forum.

Responding to a question about whereabouts of Osama bin Laden, Mr Khan said nobody knew where he was. If the coalition forces and their intelligence came to know about his location they would act, because the war on terror was going on and they would interdict all Al Qaeda men.

Replying to another question, the spokesman said the meeting between Indo-Pakistan officials/experts scheduled to be held last month to discuss the Muzzafarabad-Srinagar bus service had been postponed and would now be held on Dec 7-8 in Delhi.

When asked about a reported rift in the APHC leadership in Srinagar, Mr Khan said he believed the Kashmiri leaders were holding discussions and Pakistan hoped they would reach a settlement which needed to be arrived at by the majority of the APHC leaders.