ISLAMABAD, Jan 2: A Foreign Office spokesman said here on Tuesday that President Pervez Musharraf in his meeting with Chinese Prime Minister Zhu Rongji in Beijing on Thursday will hold important consultations on the present regional developments including the military stand-off between Pakistan and India.

Spokesman Aziz Ahmad Khan said at his daily press briefing that President Musharraf elected to take a long circuitous route via China, because of “the circumstances”, in order to take part in Saarc summit being held in Kathmandu from Jan 4-6. India had forbidden its airspace to Pakistani flights from Jan 1 as tension between the two countries rose to unprecedented height.

After an overnight stay in China, the president and his entourage will travel by a Chinese aircraft from Chengtu near Tibetan region to Kathmandu and on their return take the same Chinese airliner up to Chengtu to fly back to Islamabad by the PIA.

The spokesman said that Pakistan and China, who have close friendly ties extending over a long period, had been holding frequent consultations on bilateral and international issues.

Responding to questions, the spokesman reiterated Pakistan’s desire to avoid military confrontation with India and hold negotiations to resolve all contentious issues.

At Kathmandu too Pakistan would look hopefully for an opportunity if a move was made for talks by India in response to Islamabad’s repeated offers to adopt the diplomatic channel and resume talks instead of massive military buildup, he added.

The spokesman expressed Islamabad’s desire to see a de-escalation on the Indo-Pakistan border so that the people of Jammu and Kashmir could be saved from further destruction.

He recalled that Islamabad had made numerous appeals for de-escalation and hoped that international community which appreciated Pakistan’s efforts, would also come forward and join efforts for securing de-escalation in South Asia through diplomatic steps.

Aziz Khan said that Article 3 of the Saarc Convention relating to terrorism issues, stipulated that extradition of terrorists was possible subject to the law of the requested state. In this context, he said Pakistan had been seeking credible evidence against the 20 persons that India wanted. He said India provided no evidence against the wanted persons which made it very difficult for Pakistan to take action on the Indian demand.

The spokesman reaffirmed Pakistan’s consistent policy to offer moral and political support to the indigenous and legitimate struggle of the people of Kashmir and said that the policy would be maintained. The future course of a settlement on Kashmir, he said, could be determined only in the light of talks to resolve the issue, on which Islamabad recognized the right of the Kashmiri people and was guided by the UN resolutions upholding the right to self-determination of the Kashmiri people.

Asked if Saarc could play any role in the impending South Asian conflict, the spokesman said the regional organization had its own agenda but Pakistan had been pleading for de-escalation on the borders but India showed no signs so far for de-escalation.