TORONTO, July 21: The Azad Kashmir prime minister has said the recent wave of bomb attacks in Islamabad and the NWFP has not derailed the Pakistan-India peace process.

Talking to Dawn here on Saturday, Sardar Attique Ahmed Khan, who is currently on a visit to Canada, also refuted the claim of some observers that the Kashmir issue had taken a back seat because of the violence in Pakistan.

“On the contrary, some positive events are taking place on Kashmir front. For instance, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in his recent statement said that the Line of Control could become a line of peace with a freer flow of ideas, goods, services and people,” he said.

“For sixty years we have lived with tension and periods of violence, both internally and in our relations with Pakistan. It is time to make a genuine effort to build peace and create the conditions for a historic reconciliation of hearts and minds in our region,” Mr Attique quoted the Indian prime minister as saying.

The AJK prime minister said that Mr Singh’s statement was very positive and realistic.

Earlier, speaking at a dinner hosted for him by a Canada-based organisation, Friends of Kashmir, Sardar Attique said that peace initiatives taken by President Parvez Musharraf and Manmohan Singh had been commended by the international community.

“Peace is a universal need and we Kashmiris also want peace in South Asia,” he said, adding: “It is our sincere desire that the Kashmir issue be resolved through dialogue.”

The dinner was attended by parliamentarians, diplomats and Pakistani community leaders.