March, 17 2005	Thursday	06 Safar 1426

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ISLAMABAD, March 16: US Secretary of State Dr Condoleezza Rice said on Wednesday that Pakistan was a pivotal country in the region that could be a model for the Muslim world. During a meeting with Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, Dr Rice appreciated Pakistan’s role in stabilising the situation in Afghanistan. Both leaders held discussion on a bilateral, regional and global issue during their 70-minute meeting at the Prime Minister’s House, says an official handout said.

The prime minister highlighted Pakistan’s security needs and said its credible defence would be guarantor of peace and stability in the region.

Pakistan, he emphasized, believed that the core issue of Jammu and Kashmir should be settled in accordance with the aspirations of Kashmiri people and that all stakeholders needed to show flexibility, leadership, courage and magnanimity to resolve it.

He said Pakistan believed in friendly relations with all its neighbours and endeavoured to ensure solution of all the issues through peaceful means.

Mr Aziz mentioned the ongoing composite dialogue process with India and said the forthcoming introduction of the Muzaffarabad-Srinagar bus service would be an important humanitarian confidence-building measure.

He said Islam was a religion of peace and tolerance and all countries needed to double their efforts to promote inter-faith harmony and understanding in the world.

APP adds: The US secretary of state said Pakistan was an important country and appreciated the peace process in the region. She also acknowledged the economic progress made in Pakistan.

Foreign Minister Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri and Minister of State Khusro Bakhtiar were present at the meeting.

The US delegation included Ambassador to Pakistan Ryan C. Crocker, Counsellor Philip Zeilkow and Assistant Secretary of State for South Asian Affairs Christina Rocca.