ISLAMABAD, March 16: Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz on Friday said Pakistan was ready to reverse the course of confrontation with India and demonstrate flexibility to resolve the longstanding Jammu and Kashmir dispute, if other stakeholders reciprocated.

Addressing the inaugural session of a two-day international Kashmir conference here, he said the ongoing peace process had generated goodwill and raised the level of expectation of the people on all sides.

"This provides us with an historic opportunity to transition from conflict management to conflict resolution by settling the six decades old Jammu and Kashmir dispute. We must seize the moment and create a bright future for our coming generations.”

With the peace process reaching its logical culmination, Jammu and Kashmir would become a symbol of peace, tranquillity and fraternity in South Asia, the prime minister said, adding: “This would unleash the vast potential of our two countries and usher in a new era of peace and prosperity, not just for Pakistan and India but for the whole of South Asia."

He observed that the peace process would see ups and downs and there would also be attempts to derail the process. "However, we must all remain steadfast and committed to our objective of sustainable peace in South Asia."

He said the Kashmir dispute had cast a long and dark shadow over South Asia for nearly sixty years and added that it was the core issue between Pakistan and India and its just resolution could change the destiny of over a billion people in the region.

“Since the two countries are also nuclear weapon states, Kashmir is considered as a challenging place in the world and a settlement of the dispute will contribute to international peace and security.

The prime minister said that over the last six decades, the people of Kashmir had been denied their inalienable right to self-determination as recognised by the international community in several UN Security Council resolutions.

The prime minister said Pakistan had entered into a dialogue process with India with a firm commitment and a sincere hope that it would result in a just and lasting solution of this dispute in accordance with the wishes of the Kashmiri people.