NEW DELHI, March 24: Indian Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh on Friday offered a treaty of peace, security and friendship to Pakistan but said linking the Kashmir dispute to normalising ties between the two countries would be a mistake.

He was speaking at a public meeting in Amritsar where he flagged off a bus linking Sikhdom’s holiest city with Nankana Sahib, the birthplace of Guru Nanak, the religion’s founder.

Following are the excerpts from the official translation of the speech in Punjabi, which reads like a blue print for the India-Pakistan peace process as the Indian prime minister sees it:

“This is…a memorable day for Punjab… a historic day for the entire Sikh community, for both India and Pakistan.

“We need more such links between the two countries. For this, we require friendly relations between India and Pakistan.

“Our government is committed to resolving all outstanding issues with Pakistan, including the issue of Jammu and Kashmir. For this, I and General Musharraf have agreed that it is necessary to keep firm control over terrorism….. General Musharraf has taken bold steps to curb extremism and I compliment him for that. But more needs to be done in the interest of both India and Pakistan.

“….The normalisation of relations between India and Pakistan will open up enormous opportunities for an accelerated rate of economic growth. And for creating new job opportunities. Our trade potential is far in excess of what we are able to realize…. We must encourage people-to-people contacts between actors in civil society, between academics, businessmen, artistes, and most importantly, the common people. It is through such contacts that we can explore a vision for a cooperative common future for our two nations – a future where peace prevails, where relations are friendly, where our citizens rejoice in the well being of the other country.

“General Musharraf has often stated that the normalization of relations between our two countries cannot move forward unless what he calls the core issue of Kashmir is dealt with. In my view, it is a mistake to link normalization of other relations with finding a solution to Kashmir. But we are not afraid of discussing Kashmir or of finding, pragmatic, practical solutions to resolve this issue as well.

“A step-by-step approach has to be adopted given the inherent difficulties involved in finding practical solutions….Both sides should begin a dialogue with the people in their areas of control to improve the quality of governance so as to give the people on both sides a greater chance of leading a life of dignity and self respect.

“…Borders cannot be redrawn but we can work towards making them irrelevant — towards making them just lines on a map. People on both sides of the LOC (Line of Control) should be able to move more freely and trade with one another.

“I also envisage a situation where the two parts of Kashmir can, with the active encouragement of the governments of India and Pakistan, work out cooperative, consultative mechanisms to maximize the gains of cooperation in solving problems of social and economic development of the region.

“Instead of looking at each other as adversaries, we must have the courage to see each other as supporting the other for the realization of a better tomorrow for all the people of India and Pakistan……The peace making process must ultimately culminate in our two countries entering into a treaty of peace, security and friendship to give meaning and substance to our quest for shared goals. I make this offer to the people of Pakistan on this historic occasion. I am sure the leadership of Pakistan will reciprocate.

“…The Amritsar-Wagah road will be widened and made into a top class road so that it can become an international highway for trade, travel and tourism. We are taking steps for upgradation of facilities at Attari railway station…. The state government has finalized development of a special economic zone in Amritsar.

“Our government has also decided to develop on-port and off-port facilities at Wagah international border….. We propose to expand immigration, customs and security halls and increase number of counters, and provide better amenities. We will make it easier for the arrival and departure of jathas and delegations. An animal quarantine station will be set up for exporters of livestock. We will improve facilities for the Amritsar-Lahore buses.”