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Pakistan can’t force India, says Kasuri
Pak hopeful of Kashmiris’ role in dialogue
Advani's resignation surprises Pakistan
Pakistan hikes defence outlay
by 15 per cent
Farooq, Malik meet Hizbul chief
Annan condemns blast, calls it barbaric
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Pakistan can’t force India, says Kasuri
Islamabad, June 7 Pakistan has been trying to persuade India to include “genuine” representatives of Kashmir in the dialogue but has not been successful, Foreign Minister Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri told reporters after a meeting with Hurriyat Chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and eight other leaders from the Kashmir valley, including JKLF leader Yasin Malik here. “Let us walk before we run. We cannot force India to include the Kashmiri representatives in the dialogue,” he said. Mr Kasuri, however, said Pakistan had been trying to put “diplomatic pressure” on India in this regard. During the meeting, which took place hours before their talks with Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf, the separatist leaders discussed the ongoing peace process to resolve the Kashmir issue and their demand for the inclusion of Hurriyat representatives in the dialogue process to make it trilateral. Mr Kasuri also vehemently denied allegations by hardline Hurriyat leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani that Pakistan followed a US-drawn roadmap on Kashmir under pressure. He said similar allegations were made in the past over Iraq, but Pakistan neither voted for the US invasion of Iraq nor dispatched its army to Baghdad at the request of the USA. Mr Geelani had turned down Pakistan’s invitation for the visit to the country and PoK. Kasuri asserted that there was no military solution to the Kashmir issue. “We cannot enforce a military solution on India and vice-versa,” he said, answering questions during a luncheon hosted by him. While pressing for the inclusion of Kashmiris in the dialogue, Mr Farooq wanted the two counties to speed up the process with a set timeframe for resolving the Kashmir issue. “Right now there is too much gap and delay in the meetings being held by India and Pakistan over Kashmir. The dialogue should be speeded up and be held without interruptions with a set timeframe,” he said. Farooq said Kasuri had assured them that no decision on resolving the Kashmir issue would be taken without involving Kashmiris. He too denied any US pressure, saying that they had been interacting with various US officials and he had not heard of any roadmap on Kashmir by Washington. Without directly referring to differences between his group and that of Mr Geelani, he said efforts were underway to take all leaders on board. However, he said the time had come to move forward even if some of the leaders declined to join, apparently referring to Mr Geelani’s decision not to visit Pakistan in response to its invitation.
— PTI |
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Pak hopeful of Kashmiris’ role in dialogue
Islamabad, June 7 The Foreign Office spokesman was answering a question at his weekly press briefing whether the Hurriyat leaders’ talks in occupied Kashmir and Pakistan would lead to their joining the Indo-Pakistan dialogue. The visiting leaders have already met Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz and are likely to call on President General Pervez Musharraf. To Pakistan, spokesman Jalil Abbas Jilani said, Kashmir was one of the cardinal issues as far its relations with India were concerned. Pakistan as a sovereign and independent country had a principled position on the issue of Jammu and Kashmir which was well-known, he added. He said “there is absolutely no roadmap” on the Kashmir dispute and added that Pakistan was well aware of the fact that without the involvement of the Kashmiris in the process a lasting solution of the dispute was not possible. He said it was well known that for a lasting solution the aspirations of the Kashmiri people would have to be ascertained and it was also apparent that the Hurriyat leaders were themselves aware of the Kashmiris’ sentiments with regard to the kind of solution they wished to have. Pakistan, he stressed, was also fully aware of the aspirations of the people of Jammu and Kashmir and was confident that there would be no deviation from it. Mr Jilani was seeking to allay apprehensions of a section of the Kashmiri leadership which did not accompany Mirwaiz Maulvi Umer Farooq and other leaders on their present journey. He said the issue of the Kashmiris’ involvement in dialogue had been taken up with the Indian government on various occasions and in interaction held by the President and the Prime Minister of Pakistan at the highest level. In reply to a question, he said three rounds of talks that the Prime Minister had held with the visiting Kashmiri delegation, including JKLF Chairman Yasin Malik, were aimed at exchanging views on various ‘ideas’ in order to assess the possibility of a consensus among different leaders and groups for the solution of the Kashmir issue. |
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Advani's resignation surprises Pakistan
Islamabad, June 7 He was reacting to the resignation of Advani, who returned home yesterday after a week-long tour of Pakistan, from the Presidentship of BJP. "People who think that he (Advani) is a hardliner ...have forgotten his old statements (and are) looking towards a new Advani. And that was good for good relations," the Pakistani minister said. Observing that Advani got a "very warm" reception in Pakistan during his visit, he said "everyone is saying that things are moving in the right direction. But his resignation has stunned the whole nation." "Of course, you can look that he has got lot of reception in Pakistan this time. His statement in Pakistan changed the total era. Everyone is saying he is a reasonable man and the media has projected him in the wrong way. He got an excellent reception in Pakistan this time," Ahmad said. Advani's resignation came in the wake of RSS' demand that he withdraw his statements in Pakistan specially that Jinnah was secular.
— PTI
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Pakistan hikes defence outlay
by 15 per cent
Islamabad, June 7 Figures included in the federal budget 2005-06 and presented in the National Assembly on Monday by Finance Minister Umar Ayub showed an allocation of Rs.223.501 billion for defence affairs and services, as against Rs.193.926 billion in 2004-05. The defence budget for the next fiscal was Rs.30 billion higher than the target of the current fiscal and Rs.7 billion greater than the revised estimates. Allocation for the purchase of F-16 jets from the US has been made in the defence budget. |
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Farooq, Malik meet Hizbul chief
Islamabad, June 7 The two Kashmiri leaders held separate meetings on Sunday night with Mr Salahuddin, who had earlier refused to meet the APHC delegation, which arrived here from Muzaffarabad on June 4 for talks with top Pakistani leaders. The daily Times, quoting sources, said Syed Salauddin, made it clear to Mirwaiz and Malik that the Hizb would not accept any “solution to the Kashmir issue’’ that is arrived at without Mr Syed Ali Shah Geelani. “Mirwaiz asked Syed Salahuddin to persuade Mr Geelani to join the trilateral talks, which started with the APHC leaders’ visit to Pakistan,” the sources said. The sources added both Kashmiri leaders concurred with the chief of the UJC, an umbrella organisation of different “Kashmiri militant outfits”, to continue armed and political struggle until a resolution to the Kashmir issue was found. The three leaders decided to continue efforts to unite the APHC and bring “popular and serious Kashmiri leadership” on board to make peace process more effective, sources added. The role of APHC components which did not have “popular support in Kashmir” were also discussed in the meetings.
— UNI |
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Annan condemns blast, calls it barbaric
Kathmandu, June 7 Mr Annan termed the incident as barbaric and asked the Maoists to stop such inhumane acts. He also urged the Maoists to respect human rights and humanitarian laws. The Secretary General has also expressed his condolences to the bereaved families and those injured in the incident. Political parties and human rights organisations in Nepal have condemned the incident.
— UNI |
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