No unilateral pullout of troops from Siachin: Kasuri

Pakistan on Friday said it was willing to pull out troops from the Siachin, but made it clear there would be no unilateral withdrawal. "Pakistan stands by the agreement, entered with India on the withdrawal of forces from Siachin, many years back, but there can no unilateral withdrawal," Foreign Minister Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri told newsmen, at the Foreign Service Academy.
He was asked whether Pakistan would pull out its troops from Siachin glacier, one of the world's highest battlegrounds, unilaterally.
The Foreign Minister earlier in an interview with an Indian television channel said Pakistan was prepared to pull out troops from Siachin. He said "any unilateral act is an indication of weakness, unilateral acts never lead to peace." He said peace could only be achieved when both the sides expressed a desire and took practical steps to demonstrate their will. He said Pakistan had a positive approach towards the issue and added there was a need to implement the decisions, already agreed upon. He said the Defence Secretaries of the two countries also had several meetings in the past and there was a need to move forward.
About President Musharraf' s forthcoming visit to India, he said, the visit was very significant and would provide an opportunity to where the two leaders meet and discuss the issues, confronting the two countries, "it will be a meeting of the minds, lets hope that the visit leads to a positive result," he added.
To a question about the slow progress on major issues between Pakistan and India, Kasuri said both the countries had shown flexibility, particularly, on the Muzaffarabad and Srinagar bus service. About the issues of Baglihar and Kishanganga, he said "there can be no compromise on Pakistan's lifeline. We only want implementation on the Indus Water Basin Treaty, we are not making any out of the way demand," He said there would have been no need of seeking appointment of a neutral expert, if the matter had been settled through bilateral negotiations. The Indus Water Basin Treaty, he said, had given a way out in case of a dispute.
"We hope we will not use it for Kishanganga," he said and added that it all depends on India. "Have we not enough capacity to settle our disputes through bilateral means? Where there is will there is a way," he added.
About the progress on finalisation of the dates for the 13th Saarc summit, he said the regional countries were working together to agree on the dates and these would be announced soon.