ISLAMABAD, May 9: Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Jamali on Friday denied that a formula for the division of Kashmir was being considered.

“There is no change in Pakistan’s principled stand on Kashmir, nor any formula for the division of Kashmir is currently being considered,” he told a group of reporters at the Prime Minister’s House.

Mr Jamali said there were clear indications that the Kashmir issue would eventually be resolved between the two countries.

He said he enjoyed the support and blessings of all the opposition parties for holding talks and resolving all outstanding issues with India, including the core issue of Jammu and Kashmir, peacefully.

Responding to a question, he said if all the political parties desired a session of the National Assembly could be convened to discuss the Kashmir issue.

“I have met the opposition leaders and taken them into confidence and I don’t think I should also consult Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif who are not present in the country,” he said in reply to a question. He claimed that no breakthrough could be achieved over the Kashmir issue during the tenures of the PML-N and the PPP governments, therefore, he did not think it necessary to contact their leaders who were abroad.

When asked to comment on Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee’s statement that Kashmir was an integral part of India and that how would it affect the proposed talks between the two countries, Mr Jamali said: “This is not the first time that any Indian leader has given such a statement, therefore I am not surprised by it.”

The prime minister said there had been talks between the two sides in the past, “but this time we hope there will be different talks with a view to removing differences on the Kashmir and other issues.”

He termed the visit of a Pakistani parliamentarians delegation to India a good omen, and expressed the hope the official level talks would soon begin to discuss all contentious issues.

Asked about the oft-repeated allegation of cross-border terrorism by India, Mr Jamali said President Pervez Musharraf had made it clear that Pakistan would not allow anyone to use its soil for terrorism. “I think I don’t need to say any thing after the president’s comprehensive reply on this issue”.

In reply to a question, the prime minister said that with the visit of US Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage, relations between Pakistan and the United States would further strengthened.

When his attention was drawn towards Mr Armitage’s statement that Kashmir was not the main issue between Pakistan and India, the prime minister said for Pakistan Kashmir is the main issue between the two countries.

Responding to a question, the prime minister said his decision to postpone visit to the United States was taken in the light of situation in Iraq.

The prime minister denied that decisions taken by him were not being implemented by the bureaucracy. “There is no such thing as my decisions are being implemented.”

Talking about the Legal Framework Order, the prime minister said the ordinary people had no interest in the LFO and they only wanted resolution of their day-to day problems. “But I hope the joint government-opposition constitutional committee would soon propose its recommendations to resolve matters pertaining to the LFO.”

Asked about possible relief to the people in the next budget, the prime minister said work was being done on these lines.

The prime minister rejected an assertion that the government was planning to increase the prices of electricity, and said: “Despite difficulties we offered some relief to the people in the past, and we are again considering relief in the next budget.”