KARACHI, June 17: Foreign Minister Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri on Thursday said he was looking forward to meeting with his Indian counterpart Natwar Singh on the sidelines of the Asian Cooperation Dialogue in China for increasing the level of trust needed to address all issues , including that of Jammu and Kashmir.
He was speaking at a news conference on his return from Istanbul where he represented Pakistan at the OIC ministerial meeting. He will be travelling to China over the weekend to attend the ACD meeting during which bilateral meeting with Mr Singh is also planned.
"This is a time of hope and expectation in South Asia, and we remain optimistic about the future of Pakistan-India relations," he said, adding that "Pakistan remains committed to the dialogue process with India".
The foreign minister said the new Indian leadership had conveyed to Pakistan that it was desirous of continuing efforts to further build on the bilateral relations which had witnessed some positive developments under Mr Vajpayee.
In reply to a question, he said he favoured re-opening of consulates in Mumbai and Karachi and the rail link through Khokhrapar border because it would benefit the people on both sides. But he pointed out that certain modalities had to be worked out.
Mr Kasuri denied that during the Istanbul meeting he had offered to send Pakistani troops to Iraq, as reported in a section of the Press. "This can only be decided by parliament," he said referring to requests made more than a year ago to send troops to the battered country.
That requests were not accepted by the government of Pakistan. Mr Kasuri said another request for sending troops to protect the UN personnel in that country had been made, but no decision had yet been taken on it.
Asked to comment on the Wana operation, Mr Kasuri said Pakistan had explained to the international community that it would not allow its soil to be used for sabotage activities against any country.
Mr Kasuri said that during his visit to the US when he was asked why President Musharraf announced clemency for extremists in Wana, he said the offer should be seen in its overall perspective. He said he had asked the Americans to view it in the context of their offer in Falluja and other areas in Iraq.
"Tribal areas and tribal people are ours, and we don't want to bombard that area just to please anybody. We have adopted a reasonable approach in this regard," he said. Referring to the Islamic Foreign Minister's Conference, Mr Kasuri said he had reasons to be satisfied with the outcome of the meeting.