LAHORE, March 23: Former foreign minister Sartaj Aziz has said the peace process initiated by the PML-N government in 1998 was better than the one being launched by the incumbent administration.

Speaking at a seminar on India-Pakistan Peace organized by the Friends, a think-tank of former army chief Gen Mirza Aslam Beg, here on Tuesday, he said the PML-N's initiative should have been advanced further because national prestige had been kept intact in it.

Gen Beg warned Indian authorities that if they did not give in to the will of Kashmiris it would have to face the Mujahideen from Iraq after the US defeat there. Effects of the win for Mujahideen in Iraq would be felt as far as Chechnya, he added.

Dr Rasool Bakhsh urged the need for a direct contact between hardliners in Pakistan and India to brighten the chances of regional peace. Dr Hasan Askari said the masses were expecting a speedy outcome of the peace talks, but both the states would move forward gradually.

M.J. Akbar from India recalled that both the countries enjoyed good relations before the 1965 war. He hoped that the old days would return soon.