KARACHI, Sept 10: Pakistan will go extra mile for the success of composite dialogue with India, on all issues including Kashmir, and will do nothing to vitiate the environment for normalization of relations.

This was stated by Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Sheikh Rashid Ahmed at the "meet the press" programme of the Karachi Press Club here on Friday. He said Pakistan wanted to resolve the protracted Kashmir dispute through talks and would continue negotiations with India until there was some hope.

"We do not want to take the responsibility for the failure of these talks despite the statements issued by Foreign Minister Natwar Singh and other Indian leaders," he said.

Mr Ahmed urged India to avail of the opportunity to resolve the issue because President Gen Pervez Musharraf was in power. The president had several proposals to resolve the dispute, he claimed and asked India to "grasp this opportunity". "It is now or never."

Pakistan would continue the process as long as there was some hope, he said. However, he emphasised: "There will be no flexibility on the freedom struggle of the Kashmiris." He made it clear that "if India continues to delay addressing the core issue of Kashmir the process of normalization will also be affected".

In the context of the ongoing operation in Wana, the minister was asked how could the militants still have a training camp in the area when it had been sealed off by the security forces.

The information minister said: "When we say that they had training camp we do not mean they were being imparted physical training. They have had lots of that in Afghanistan. They actually used that place for planning. There are between 150 to 300 militants in the area."

He reiterated the government's offer of clemency if the militants surrendered their weapons and registered with the authorities and agreed to lead normal life according to rules.

"But a bullet will be answered with bullet," he emphasised as activists of the Islami Jamiat Tulba chanted slogans outside the KPC against the Wana operation and the US policies vis-a-vis Iraq and Afghanistan.

"Air strike in which several people were killed was the only solution as ground troops could not take an effective action against those people," said the minister. He said terrorists in the Wana area were now fleeing. "If they are successful in taking refuge in urban areas, any action would be taken keeping in view requirements of situation."

The minister told a questioner that had Gen Musharraf not taken the position against terrorism and not launched operation in Wana and other parts of the tribal area, the Americans would have done so, which would have been quite embarrassing for Pakistan.

He claimed that some of the militants were trying to escape to some other countries, according to information gathered from those arrested during various operations. But, he said wherever they went action would be taken against them.

Asked if there was a possibility of extending the ongoing operation to Northern Areas, Mr Ahmed said: "We will take action according to the situation on the ground and in accordance with our security considerations."

The information minister said he believed that Osama bin Laden was dead while there were evidences that Ayman Al Zawahiri and Mulla Omar were alive. "I am saying this not on the basis of any information or news. It is my analysis as a political activist," he said.

Replying to a question, he said that innocent people were being killed by terrorists and that was why the government wanted to put an end to terrorism as early as possible.

When asked if Gen Musharraf could retain his military uniform and still remain president beyond Dec 2004, the minister said that the 17th Amendment, which was passed with the help of the MMA, had the provision under which Gen Musharraf could retain his uniform. He cited People's Party Parliamentarians' Chaudhry Aitzaz Ahsan's views in this regard.

He contended that President Musharraf should retain the uniform because the country was required to take bold decisions with regard to water and relations with India.

He told a questioner that politicians, specially Pakistan People's Party headed by Benazir Bhutto remained in contact with the government, but added that acquittal of Asif Zardari (in the Steel Mills case) was not part of any deal.

He assured journalists that he would continue to advocate implementation of 7th Wage Board award. "I know condition of journalists and I know that they are victimized." It was surprising, he said, that when children of journalists protested against the delay in the implementation of the wage award, it hardly got space in newspapers. Was this freedom of the press, he asked.