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ISLAMABAD, April 22: President Pervez Musharraf and Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Tuesday expressed the resolve to fight terrorism.
The two leaders told media after their official talks at Aiwan-i-Sadr that they discussed a whole range of issues to further strengthen the bilateral relationship in various fields.
Earlier, the one-on-one talks between the two leaders lasted for more than two hours.
They reiterated the desire to consolidate the close brotherly ties for the mutual benefit of the people of the two countries.
The two leaders held in-depth discussion on further enhancing the bilateral cooperation in various fields.
They exchanged views on a wide spectrum of issues of common interest. The Afghan president briefed President Musharraf about the reconstruction efforts in his country and appreciated Pakistan’s cooperation in this regard.
Replying to questions from journalists, President Musharraf said: “The objectives of both the countries are same. The threat and visualization of the concern is the same, therefore the strategic perception of the problem is the same.”
“Our views are absolutely common so there should be no strategic problem in that. We coordinate with each other to deal with the problem,” he told a questioner.
President Musharraf said: “We will fight terrorism all the way. We are mutually complementing each other to tackle the problem.”
Hamid Karzai said the talks focused on “more security and more well-being” of the people of the two countries.
“We held broader and deeper discussions on the relationships between the two countries,” he added.
BANQUET: President Pervez Musharraf said Pakistan was prepared to engage in a comprehensive dialogue with India on Kashmir and other outstanding disputes.
“Pakistan wishes to resolve all its disputes with India peacefully. We are prepared to engage in a comprehensive dialogue with India on Kashmir and all other outstanding issues,” he stated in his speech at a banquet he hosted in honour of Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Tuesday.
Referring to the Indian offer of talks, the president said: “We are glad to see positive indications coming lately.” He expressed the hope that these indications “can be pursued to greater interacting process.”
President Musharraf informed the Afghan leader that while developments on Pakistan’s western borders were a matter of satisfaction, the same could not be said of its eastern border.
“India’s unreasonable policy of show of force and refusal to hold talks has jeopardized the security of our region.”
“We want a negotiated settlement of all issues with India. Kashmir has been at the heart of Pakistan-India differences since independence.”
President Musharraf said Kashmir had been the main impediment to the development of normal relations between the two countries.
Pakistan’s position on Kashmir was based on the UN Security Council resolutions, he stated.
“The UNSC resolutions provide that the final disposition of Jammu and Kashmir will be made in accordance with the will of the people expressed through a plebiscite under the UN auspices.”—APP
