ISLAMABAD, May 2: President Gen Pervez Musharraf hailed peace overtures between Pakistan and India as “a new beginning,” reports said on Friday.

Gen Musharraf was quoted by the APP as telling a television channel that he detected a new attitude from New Delhi following Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee’s offer of dialogue last month.

“We were consistently saying that we want talks, but it was India that was showing rigidity,” he said. Pakistan had been urging comprehensive dialogue for three years, he said. “Now, it appears that some change has come from their side,” he said. “This is a very good sign. I think it is a new beginning after the Agra summit,” he said.

The president said he detected “a growing realization among the Indian leadership” that “meaningful” dialogue was the only way to ease tensions on the nuclear-ready subcontinent.—AFP