ISLAMABAD, Oct 4: There is work in progress 'all around' with the entire government and all segments of society exploring possible options for a 'negotiated settlement' of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute which has defied a resolution in more than 50 years.

This was stated by Foreign Office spokesman Masood Khan at his weekly briefing here on Monday in response to a question if the foreign office had undertaken any exercise to examine possible options that could be considered for the resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute. He, however, said that the foreign office was just one part of the government which was engaged in this exercise.

He said that President Pervez Musharraf and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in their meeting last month had for the first time in the recent history of the two countries expressed the "will and intention to explore and consider any such options", recognizing the need of time to move towards a settlement of the issue.

The spokesman said that having crossed 'the first obstacle', the two leaders affirmed their 'will and intention' to explore possible options away from the long-stated positions on the dispute of Pakistan and India.

For obvious reasons, he refused to speculate what could possibly be such options. But he described as unacceptable to Pakistan a statement attributed to the Indian external ministry which reportedly proposed a settlement of the dispute on the basis of some adjustments in the existing Line of Control dividing Jammu and Kashmir.

Responding to another question, the spokesman reiterated that Pakistan would not extend access to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to meet any Pakistan nuclear scientist, including Dr A.Q. Khan, although he affirmed that the country would continue to extend cooperation to the IAEA. He reiterated reaffirmed that Pakistan was determined to eliminate nuclear proliferation, a charge levelled against Dr Khan.

The spokesman described the first-ever visit of Pakistani journalists to held Kashmir as a good idea which, he said, might provide a first-hand view of the situation in the conflict-ridden state. He urged similar interaction between political leaders and activists from Pakistan and India.

The spokesman denied a reported statement by the Indian external affairs minister that the question of troop deployment at Siachen had come under discussion between President Musharraf and Prime Minister Singh in their New York meeting.

However, the issue had been discussed as part of the composite dialogue process last summer between the defence secretaries of the two sides and further discussions on it was adjourned till their military experts met and sorted out details some time later.

The spokesman said that Jahangir Ashraf Qazi, the UN representative in Iraq who had recently come to Islamabad on a private visit, made no request for Pakistani troops to be deployed in Iraq during his meeting with President Pervez Musharraf.