Foreign Minister Khurshid Mahmood Kasuri said on Tuesday that stable, conflict-free and co-operative relationship between Pakistan and India was "a necessary condition" for building durable peace in South Asia.
He said this in his address at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, a noted thank tank, on "Pakistan: Promoting Peace, Security and Development."
He said durable peace was essential if the nations of South Asian region were to make consistent progress and achieve their full potential, which, he added, was "enormous." He said it was time to shift the paradigm and work for conflict resolution from the focus so far on conflict-management.
It as with this perspective, he said, that Pakistan had vigorously pursued the peace process with India. Over the past two years, the two countries had travelled a long distance from the dangerous eyeball-to-eyeball confrontation of 2002-03, he added.
Kasuri said two rounds of composite dialogue had been completed and the third was almost nearing its end. He said some progress had been made on confidence building measures (CBMs) and people-to-people contacts.
He said measures like opening of bus services, rail links, and crossing points along the Line of Control (LOC) were aimed at alleviating people's hardship and easing contacts on both sides, he said.
"There are increasing cultural exchanges, sports events, visits to religious sites, and interaction among civil society. "All this has served to improve the atmospherics," he added.
"While this is a welcome development, there has to be progress towards resolving outstanding issues. Forward movement is essential on Jammu and Kashmir dispute, Siachen, Sir Creek and Wullar Barrage. Meaningful movement towards conflict resolution is critical to the sustainability of the peace process," he said.
Kasuri said Pakistan had often underlined that "we need sincerity, flexibility and courage on both sides." For Pakistan's part, he said, President Pervez Musharraf had been bold and imaginative in presenting ideas to break the logjam. "His proposals on demilitarisation, self-governance, and joint management have generated an enthusiastic response among the Kashmiris," he said, adding: "We await a serious response from New Delhi."
He said it was equally important, meanwhile, to improve the human rights situation in occupied Kashmir - a need acknowledged by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh himself recently. He said Pakistan welcomed President Bush's commitment of the US support for a Kashmir solution acceptable to all sides.
REFORM EFFORTS Declaring that Pakistan's reform and national renewal efforts since 1999 had yielded concrete results, Foreign Minister Khurshid Kasuri said: "Today's Pakistan is economically resilient, politically stable, institutionally stronger, and a better governed country."
Along with sound economic policies, he said the government had been pursuing a policy of "enlightened moderation," which in President Musharraf's words envisaged internal reformation in Muslim societies along with Western.
He said the present leadership in Pakistan firmly believed that strength abroad flowed from strength at home. "We have, therefore, been working tirelessly to build a solid domestic foundation to shape a favourable external environment for Pakistan," he added.
He told the audience that "we are closer to the vision of Qauid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan, as a modern, progressive, democratic, Islamic state."
The Foreign Minister said the hallmark of the government's economic policies were deregulation, liberalisation and privatisation - and as a result, Pakistan today was among the fastest growing economies in Asia.
"We have maintained a robust economic growth pattern for several years now, agricultural and industrial productivity was on the rise, while unemployment and poverty levels are declining. These reforms were focused on institution-building, infrastructure development, and investment in human capital, he added.
He said a recent World Bank study listed Pakistan among the top 12 reformers in the world.
TOUGHEST CHELLENGE Kasuri said religious extremism warned the government's "toughest challenge. "We remain determined not to allow a fringe element to hijack our noble faith, steal the Quaid's vision, jeopardise our economic well-being, undermine our moderate outlook, and hurt our international standing."
He said an elaborate Fata development plan for the tribal areas of Pakistan had been designed, including initiatives like Reconstruction Opportunity Zones (ROZs).
Foreign Minister Kasuri said it was the government's conviction that no enlightened society can thrive without the full participation of all of its citizens. "We have, therefore, consistently endeavoured to ensure the protection and promotion of women and minorities rights. These vulnerable segments of our society need affirmative action by the state. Many Steps have been taken to safeguard their rights, protect them from discrimination, and enhance their status." In this context, he added, many other steps were in the pipeline.
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