NEW YORK, Sept 28: Foreign Minister Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri said on Monday that "prospects of peace (between Pakistan and India) have never been more promising than they are now" and declared that Islamabad will pursue the process with sincerity.
"It is a moment of hope in relations between the two countries," Mr Kasuri told reporters in New York where he has been keeping up a hectic schedule of engagements at the UN, meeting his counterparts from around the world gathered here for the 59th session of the Assembly.
In his first comments on last Friday's summit meeting between President Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Mr Kasuri said that it marked "a significant step forward" towards the resolution of all issues, including Kashmir.
The two leaders had agreed that "possible options" for settling the Kashmir issue should be explored in "a sincere spirit and purposeful manner." He balked when pressed to comment on India Prime Minister's statement that Pakistan has to control the so-called cross-border terrorism as a "pre-condition" for moving forward on the composite dialogue process.
"I am not going to go beyond what has been stated in the joint statement issued by the two leaders," he told reporters. He refused to be drawn into any controversy over the reaction of India's opposition, which blasted the agreement, except to note that it was the BJP leader A.B. Vajpayee who launched the process in January of this year along with President Pervez Musharraf.
"This (summit) meeting marks an important step forward in the progress of composite dialogue to enhance cooperation between the two countries," Mr Kasuri went on to say.
About his bilateral contacts, he said he had met the heads of delegation of France, Britain, Russia, Spain, Greece, Poland, Singapore, Egypt, Palestine, Italy, Cyprus, Cuba, Turkey, Ukraine, Algeria and Lebanon, besides attending a number of other meetings.
Besides reviewing bilateral relations, Mr Kasuri said he discussed with them the reform of the UN Security Council, a review of the progress in the composite dialogue and Pakistan's commitment to the peace process aimed at addressing all issues, including Kashmir. Also discussed was the situation in Afghanistan and Iraq.
