ISLAMABAD, Sept 16: Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Makhdum Khusro Bakhtyar on Friday welcomed the Pakistan-India joint statement issued after the September 14 meeting between President Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh in New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.

Referring to the meeting he said the two leaders took stock of the entire gamut of bilateral relations and agreed to carry forward the peace process in a sincere and purposeful manner.

In a statement issued here on Friday, the minister maintained that the proposed visit of the Indian prime minister to Pakistan would provide further impetus to the peace process.

The visit is expected to take place later this year and its date would be worked out through diplomatic channels.

He said that a solution to the Kashmir dispute would be found to the satisfaction of the concerned parties for a durable peace in the South Asia.

”Notably in the latest Pakistan-India joint statement the two leaders expressed their commitment to ensuring a peaceful settlement of all pending issues, including Jammu and Kashmir”, the statement added.