LAHORE, Dec 11: Foreign Minister Mian Khurshid Mehmud Kasuri says that despite three wars Pakistan and India have failed to force a change in each other’s stance on the thorny issue of Kashmir and a composite dialogue is the only way left for them to settle the dispute.
Answering a question at a news conference in the State Guest House here on Thursday, he said that mindful of the need for a dialogue between the two nuclear states, Pakistan had urged the European Union, the G-8, the United States and other important fora to cajole New Delhi into holding parleys with Islamabad.
In the absence of a dialogue process, the foreign minister apprehended, the same old “no-war-no-peace” or a “near-war” situation would return, which was not in the interest of either country.
Mr Kasuri was happy to point out that the world community was appreciative of the need for talks between Pakistan and India for resolution of the Kashmir dispute.
Responding to a question about various formulae being offered by countries and think-tanks to settle the issue, Mr Kasuri said Pakistan was more interested in resumption of the stalled dialogue process and unless the two countries sat across the table, Islamabad would not offer any comment on any of the proposed solutions.
However, he made it clear that Pakistan would prefer a “homegrown roadmap, not somebody else’s”.
The foreign minister was of firm view that Kashmiris were a party to the dispute and they too should be involved in the Indo-Pakistan talks. Pakistan, he said, was telling the international community that Kashmiris were a force of moderation and peace who must be included in the talks sooner than later.
Maintaining that a solution to the Kashmir dispute was indispensable for a durable peace in South Asia, the foreign minister said none of the foreign ministers he had talked to disagreed with the assertion.
In response to a question about India’s efforts to win over the APHC leaders and exclude Pakistan from the efforts to solve the problem, Mr Kasuri said no two parties were in a position to settle the matter.
He pointed out that under the UN resolutions, Pakistan was a party to the dispute and could not be sidelined. Though under the same resolutions, Kashmiris are not supposed to take part in the talks, Pakistan is going by the dictates of the logic in demanding that they should be permitted to take part in talks targeted at deciding their destiny.
Asked about the possibility of talks between Pakistan and India on the sidelines of SAARC summit in Islamabad next month, the foreign minister said that SAARC was a multilateral forum.
In response to a question about Pakistan’s complaint that its high commission in London had been bugged, Mr Kasuri said British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw had told him that since a denial would give birth to many more questions, his country would keep silent on the issue.
He said Mr Straw also told him that under the British law the issue involved was a criminal offence and therefore Britain would not respond to a bugging complaint even if it came from countries like the United States or Germany.
But Mr Kasuri said this should not mean that the chapter had been closed. The matter would be taken up with the British authorities in the future.
Denying reports that FBI was interrogating some scientists of the Kahuta Research Laboratories, the foreign minister said that debriefing of employees of sensitive institutions, if necessary, was carried out by local agencies.
He told a questioner that Pakistan had already explained its position on how it could send its troops to Iraq. There was no shift in the policy, he emphasized.
Mr Kasuri said Pakistan was also playing a role in the reconstruction of war-ravaged Afghanistan and despite resource constraints it had committed $100 million for the purpose. He said a quarter of the amount had already been disbursed.
The foreign minister said that during the past one year Pakistan’s relations had improved with all its neighbours except India.
Tension with Iran had also come to an end after the overthrow of Taliban regime, which was the only issue on which the two Islamic countries had different points of view.
Gen Musharraf’s visit to Russia had also brought a strategic shift, leading to a visible improvement in bilateral relations.
China was Pakistan’s trusted friend and the nature of relations between the two countries was exemplary.
He said relations with the Gulf Cooperation Council states were also very strong and the landmark speech made by Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz during his visit to Islamabad was sufficient to vindicate the point.
He said Islamabad’s ties with Kabul were also improving with the passage of time and President Hamid Karzai had expressed a very positive opinion of Pakistan while talking to journalists. He said Foreign Minister Abdullah would soon be visiting Pakistan to exchange views on various subjects.
The foreign minister said Pakistan was respected in the world community because of its foreign policy.