Appreciating the spirit of friendship, reflected at the joint secretary level talks between India and Pakistan, held on Monday in Islamabad, Foreign Minister Khurshid Mehmud Kasuri said the agenda decided upon by the officials would help make it easier for the political level to take decisions.
In an interview, carried by leading Indian Daily "The Asian Age" he said, "how we set the agenda will determine the results", adding, the three-day talks would also be a test of statesmanship of the two foreign offices.
The minister lauded the decision of Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Yajpayee to clear the cricket tour, If this had been called off, it would have sent out very wrong signals, he observed.
Kasuri said he was not sure why the sudden problem had taken place but he appreciated Vajpayee's positive decision.
To a question about security concerns, the minister said, "why should there be any security concerns? If the Prime Minister of India can visit Pakistan, why not the cricket team"? Full-scale security would be provided to the Indian cricket team, he added.
To a question, citing Islamabad joint statement, the minister said it had made clear that there was no question of reaching any settlement that would leave the people of Kashmir out of the process.
"When you talk of Kashmir, it means the people of Kashmir. It is a test for the leadership of India and Pakistan to find a solution that the Kashmiris will also accept," he said adding, "we are playing a role in making history, if we do succeed, this will be making history."
Continuing, the minister said it would be a good idea if India and Pakistan began discussions to introduce and implement nuclear confidence-building measures. "If either party ever makes any mistake here, this mistake will be fatal", he pointed out.
There was reason whey the current talks could succeed. One, the situation in South Asia had changed. He said that both India and Pakistan realised that they could not impose their will on each other and that peace was possible only through a negotiated settlement on all issues including Kashmir.
To a query, Kasuri said it was important not to draw out the process and give those looking to disrupt the peace process an opportunity to intervene. "Common sense suggests that these should not be delayed, particularly in view of our experience from the past when dialogue was disrupted because of some reason or the other," he added further saying, it was also important if "you want to send a message of peace to Kashmiris that peace is an alternative and you certainly cannot do so by dilly-dallying".
Comments
Comments are closed.