India, Pak to make new beginning

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh called his one-hour meeting with President Musharraf on Friday morning a new beginning for India-Pakistan ties. The two leaders, who met at the Roosevelt Hotel, addressed the issue of Kashmir and agreed that possible options for a peaceful negotiated settlement of the issue should be explored in a sincere spirit and in a purposeful manner.

Discussions were held in a constructive and frank manner and the leaders reiterated their commitment to continue the bilateral dialogue to restore normalcy and active cooperation. They agreed that confidence-building measures under discussion between the two governments should be implemented.

In the spirit of the Islamabad joint press statement of January 6, 2004 they agreed that CBMs would contribute to generating an atmosphere of trust and mutual understanding necessary for the welfare of the people of both countries.

Musharraf said, "I would like to say that the prime minister gave me the honour of allowing me to read this text out. I hope this augurs well for the future of Indo-Pakistan relations.

Manmohan Singh, in reply, said, "Before I embarked on this journey people asked me 'what were your expectations of meeting with President Musharraf'. And I said to them before I left Delhi that this is an essay on mutual comprehension, and today I have had the privilege of meeting him. We had one-to-one hour-long discussions and the outcome of that meeting President Musharraf has very kindly read out to you."

"I sincerely believe that today is a historic day. We have made a new beginning and I feel confident that despite the difficulties on the way that President Musharraf and I will together work and succeed in writing a new chapter in the history of our countries.

Both leaders did not take any questions from the press.

The possibility of a gas pipeline via Pakistan to India was also discussed. It was felt that such a project should be considered in the larger context of expanding trade and economic relations between the neighbours.

External Affairs Minister K Natwar Singh, National Security Adviser J N Dixit, Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran and other senior officials were present at the meeting. The Pakistani side comprised Foreign Minister Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri, Information Minister Sheikh Rashid and National Security Adviser Tariq Aziz.

As part of confidence building measures, New Delhi had last week announced a liberalised visa regime covering Pakistani medical doctors, academicians, accredited journalists and for Pakistanis above 65 years of age.

The prime minister had, however, voiced concerns over the existence of terrorist infrastructure in that country, reminding Musharraf of his assurance not to allow territory under Pakistan's control to be used for terrorist activities against India.

At a press conference in New York on Thursday, Musharraf had said, at present, India and Pakistan were taking 'maximalist' positions on the Kashmir issue and an agreement required both sides to come down.