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| 21 November 2004 | Sunday | 08 Shawwal 1425 |
India should avoid controversies: FO
ISLAMABAD, Nov 20: The Foreign Office has urged Indian leadership to avoid issuing statements to reiterate its previous stance on Kashmir as such statements fuel controversy.
In an interview with the BBC Television, Foreign Office Spokesman Masood Khan said that President Pervez Musharraf and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had, during their September 24 meeting in New York, agreed to explore possible options for a peaceful negotiated settlement of the Jammu and Kashmir issue.
At the end of the meeting, the spokesman recalled, there was a glimmer of hope - "there was light at the end of tunnel."
In the recent past, India has been saying that "Kashmir is an integral part of India'' and that "there should be no redrawing of border'', the spokesman said, adding that such statements fuel controversy, generate skepticism, raise concerns and distract attention from the ongoing dialogue.
"We can avoid all of that for a smooth flow of dialogue process," he said.
President Musharraf has said that voices from Delhi are not encouraging but Pakistan sincerely wants to move the dialogue process forward and work for its success, Masood Khan said.
Asked, will Pakistan reciprocate such statements by reiterating its stated position on Kashmir? the spokesman said, "No, as a matter of fact one has to see the things in entire context."-APP
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