ISLAMABAD, Sept 2: President Gen Pervez Musharraf on Friday called for progress towards an ‘acceptable’ solution of the Kashmir problem when he received the Indian foreign secretary who said he drew the president’s attention to ‘continuing guerilla infiltration and violence’ in Indian-held Kashmir.

The president expressed satisfaction that the second round of the composite dialogue had completed with ‘some positive developments’, said a foreign ministry statement issued after the meeting.

Referring to his meeting with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in New Delhi in April, the president said “improved atmospherics had created a conducive environment to make real progress on all issues, particularly the Jammu and Kashmir dispute.

“The president hoped that end to human rights violations and withdrawal of troops from the urban centres (Indian-held Kashmir) would help a great deal in raising the comfort level of the Kashmiri people.”

According to the statement, the president “emphasized the need to address the Kashmir dispute in a focused manner and seek a final settlement acceptable to Pakistan, India and the people of Kashmir”.

It quoted him as saying: “Progress on this issue would facilitate progress on other issues.”

The president told Indian Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran he looked forward to his planned meeting with the Indian prime minister in New York on Sept 14.

The secretary conveyed to the president the greetings of the Indian president and the prime minister and said the Indian premier was committed to peace and was keen to see progress in the composite dialogue.

Later, Mr Saran told a news conference that he had briefed President Musharraf on his discussions with Foreign Secretary Riaz Mohammad Khan and the “overall progress which has been achieved in the second round of the composite dialogue”.