TIPS to search 200  million Web pages fast!

US asks Pak to respond positively to ceasefire

The United States has asked Pakistan and Kashmiri militant groups to respond positively to Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's Ramzan ceasefire offer saying the move is a harbinger of a sustained dialogue that could bring peace in the region.

Assistant Secretary of State Karl Inderfurth has been in touch with Islamabad and "we certainly urge the government of Pakistan to respond to the prime minister's announcement in a positive fashion," White House spokesman Jake Siewert said Wednesday.

"We certainly saw the statement that was issued by the Pakistanis and we know it does not reject the Indian announcement. It says that it will closely watch the developments in the region," Siewert said.

State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said Vajpayee's ceasefire announcement was fully consistent with President Bill Clinton's assertion that "there needs to be restraint, respect of the Line of Control, rejection of violence and renewal of dialogue to settle the Kashmir dispute."

He said the US hoped that the offer would open a process of dialogue that was needed to bring about a lasting solution to the issue.

Boucher praised the All Party Hurriyat Conference's response to the offer and urged hardline militant groups which rejected it to "reconsider their positions and to use this opportunity to begin a process to end the conflict in Kashmir.

PTI

Complete coverage

Back to top

Tell us what you think of this report