ISLAMABAD, May 25: President Gen Pervez Musharraf on Wednesday underscored the need for Pakistan and India to move forward on dispute resolution for a mutually beneficial economic and trade cooperation. Addressing a delegation of Indian businessmen, the president said that with ‘political will and sincerity’ the two countries could overcome their disputes and improve their relations rapidly.

“We have to move forward on the political front effectively for dispute resolution and also simultaneously look for developing trade and economic ties to the benefit of both countries,” he told representatives of the federation of Indian chambers of commerce and industry.

Gen Musharraf expressed the hope that the two countries would not repeat the mistake of brushing the underlying causes of tension under the carpet and would go for resolving their disputes.

“The past accords between the (two) countries failed as they did not address the lingering disputes and brushed them under the carpet. Let us not do it again,” he said.

Referring to the peace process, the president pointed out that he had found Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to be sincere in his intentions.

“But we cannot guarantee the same degree of harmony between the future leadership,” he said, underlining the importance of grasping the peace opportunity.

He described the South Asian Free Trade Agreement as an important development vis-a-vis enhancing regional trade cooperation, but said amity between the two countries should be translated into substantive cooperation.

He said that South Asia should expand its trade with other Asian regions, including Southeast Asia, Northeast Asia and China, which had progressed way ahead.

The Indian delegation’s leader, Onkar Kanwar, described the meeting with Gen Musharraf as positive.

“He (president) was positive in promoting bilateral trade and economic activities,” Mr Kanwar told reporters.—Agencies