Pakistan not to accept LoC as permanent border: Kasuri

Foreign Minister Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri has said that Pakistan will not accept Line of Control (LoC) as permanent border at any cost.
"We have made it clear to former Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, all countries including the United States and the European Union that Pakistan will not accept LoC as permanent border," the minister told VOA in a telephonic interview from New York.
He said, Vajpayee himself admitted in an interview with Dawn and 'India Today' that Pakistan would not accept LoC as permanent border.
To a question regarding reports of rollback of Pakistan's nuclear programme he said, "there is no question of nuclear rollback".
"We have clearly negated these reports and we have given answer to these reports by conducting a sophisticated nuclear missiles tests."
He said Dr Qadeer Khan's episode took place at the time when Pakistani nuclear programme was covert. But now it has become open and we are openly conducting missiles test and informing India and other countries.
We have established a Nuclear Command Authority which is adopting command and multi-layer security rings as done by other countries to protect nuclear assets, the minister said.
Asked as he is scheduled to meet US Secretary of State, Colin Powell, what will he discuss with him, Kasuri said, Pakistan has close relations with US and there is continuous exchange of visits between the two countries to discuss variety of issues.
We discuss all issues including war on terrorism, Iraq, Afghanistan and other things, he said adding present Pakistani government policies have not only been respected by US but also by EU, Japan, China and Islamic world.
On the future of Indo-Pak relations vis-à-vis change of government in India he said, Pakistan is committed to move forward in the direction of peace with India.
The statements of Sonia Gandhi and other party leaders very clearly indicate that they want to continue peace process, he added.
Kasuri said that, Sonia Gandhi in her statement said that she has encouraged Vajpayee to start peace initiative.
He said there is no change in ground realities in South Asia. The economic and socio-economic indicators are very disappointing and the poverty is on rise.
The other reality is that, people of both countries want to improve the relations, he said adding it will facilitate Congress party in India to continue peace process which was not possible in the past.
This time he said the BJP and Hindu nationalist parties will not oppose the peace initiative as they themselves have started this, he said.