04 November 2004	Thursday	20 Ramazan 1425

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LAHORE, Nov 3: The second term of President George W. Bush in office would further improve Pakistan's relations with the United States and be helpful for the solution to the Kashmir and Palestine issues, Information Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed said here on Wednesday.

At an Iftar reception he hosted for journalists, he said the second term of Mr Bush would hopefully be better for the Islamic Ummah and now the US president would take the Islamic countries along. He said Muslim countries had felt hurt during his first tenure because of various policies he pursued. The minister also expressed the hope that the Iraqi people would regain their due rights.

Sheikh Rashid said President Pervez Musharraf wanted the Kashmir dispute resolved to the satisfaction of Pakistan, India and the Kashmiri people on both sides of the Line of Control. According to him, the president had broached some options for a debate by the people so that any solution finally agreed upon did not come as a surprise to any party.

The minister said that what the president had said did not mean that Pakistan had given up its consistent and principled stand on the relevance of the UN resolutions. But he made it clear that these resolutions required the two countries to withdraw their troops from Kashmir, something not possible in the prevailing situation.

Sheikh Rashid said President Musharraf would meet Kashmiri leaders on both sides of the LoC to elicit their views on the issue.

Pakistan, the minister said, wanted that the first bus to come to Muzaffarabad from Srinagar should carry all APHC leaders. These leaders would be accorded a very warm welcome, he said.

He told a questioner that so far no agreement had been reached on the travel documents of people desirous of visiting the two sides of the LoC. He said Kashmiri leaders of the occupied Kashmir were not willing to travel with Indian passports.

The minister said the Kashmir dispute would find a solution under the courageous and far-sighted leadership of President Pervez Musharraf. He said the general was convinced that this was the best time for the solution to the over five-decade dispute.

In response to a question, the minister said while Pakistan was keen to resolve the dispute at the earliest, it would show no complacency on its defence preparations. Every month a new missile would be tested, the minister said, hoping that India would also follow suit.

SHARIF'S FATHER: The minister disclosed that President Musharraf had personally called Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdulaziz and told him that the Sharif family could come to Pakistan by a chartered plane to take part in the last rites of Mian Muhammad Sharif. The Saudi dignitary, the minister said, had also been told by the president that the Sharifs would be allowed to stay here for three to seven days. But, he said, the Sharifs were not willing to come to Pakistan.

UNIFORM ISSUE: The minister told a questioner that it was for President Musharraf to decide when to take off his uniform. As for the ruling party, he said, it had given him a waiver to retain both offices by getting passed a law from both houses of parliament.

About the difference of opinion expressed by ruling party Senator S.M. Zafar, the minister said he had proved himself a smart lawyer. Through his arguments, the minister said, Mr Zafar had pleased both the prosecution and the defence.

He said the opposition had the right to launch a movement against the government. But he made it clear that the government wanted to hold talks with opposition parties and take them along.

In response to a question about PML Secretary-General Mushahid Husain's suggestion that all political prisoners be released for the sake of national conciliation, the minister pointed out that the prime minister had clarified the position. Thus, he said, what Senator Mushahid had said was his personal opinion.

Answering another question, Sheikh Rashid said President Musharraf was defending the religious seminaries and the MMA at the international level and the world valued his opinion.

Asked whether the NWFP chief minister would participate in the next meeting of the National Security Council, the minister said Mr Akram Khan Durrani was a wise man and the JUI-F a party with fore-sight.

WANA OPERATION: The minister said Wana operation would take quite some time to come to an end because of the complexity of the situation. He said the government was not aware of the situation of the area during the past 50 years. But what the masterminds arrested from Wana had revealed during investigations was simply appalling.

Without naming country but leaving no doubt that he was referring to the United States, the minister said the government had been told in plain terms that either it carry out an operation in Wana or foreign troops would do the job.

He said truckloads of electronic materials had been recovered from the area which manifested how serious was the situation.

He said it was also quite painful that some tapes of messages given by Osama bin Laden or others had been sent from Pakistan. This provided the foreign media with an opportunity to raise fingers at Pakistan. It was because of this, he said, that media was alleging that Osama was somewhere in Pakistan.

But he vehemently denied all such reports, saying the government had just no idea of the whereabouts of the Saudi dissident who was the most wanted man. The minister said if somebody could tell where Osama was hiding, the government would use all its means to arrest him.