Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz reiterating Pakistan's principled stand on Indian occupied Kashmir issue said that there is a need to resolve the core issue of occupied Jammu and Kashmir through peaceful means and according to the aspirations of Kashmiri people to ensure progress and prosperity in the region.
Addressing a function organised by Nepal Council for World Affairs in co-operation with the Pakistan embassy here on Monday, the Prime Minister said normalisation of Pakistan-India relations will have an obvious positive impact on co-operation among the countries of South Asia and within Saarc region.
The Prime Minister, who is on his first ever visit to Nepal as Chairman of Saarc, explained in detail about the latest progress of Pak-India composite dialogue process and said President General Pervez Musharraf has given no proposal for the solution of Kashmir issue. The President has only asked the media in Pakistan to open a debate on various possible options for the resolution of this longstanding issue, he added.
Shaukat said diversion of scarce resources from defence to development needs will benefit the people of the entire region and not just the two countries. He said peace in the region would also promote trade and commerce within the subcontinent and added that the development in the region would increase overall prosperity and improve the living standard of the people.
To a question from the audience about resolving bilateral disputes through the Saarc platform by making amendments in it, the Prime Minister disagreed with the proposal and said it could disturb the smooth functioning of the forum for development purposes.
Replying to a question about safety of Pakistan's nuclear programme, the Prime Minister said, "Our nuclear programme is absolutely peaceful and Pakistan has no aggressive designs."
He said Pakistan's nuclear programme is in strong custodian control and there is nuclear command authority in place to oversee the safety mechanism of the country's nuclear assets.
The Prime Minister reiterated that it never proliferated and is opposed to any proliferation of nuclear technology.
He underscored the importance that Pakistan attaches to its relations with Nepal. He said Pakistan fully supports and respects the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Nepal.
The Prime Minister said, "We oppose any form of interference in the internal affairs of Nepal."
He said the two countries share similar views on regional and international issues.
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