President Pervez Musharraf on Saturday reiterating his resolve not to let the Kashmiris down said there were indications to a forward movement on Kashmir dispute, and hoped Pakistan and India will make progress in this regard.
THE PROJECT WILL PRODUCE LOW-COST ENERGY, REDUCE DEPENDENCE ON THERMAL GENERATION AND CUT GREENHOUSE EMISSIONS: "I can never let down the Kashmiris, can never forget Kashmir. A solution for Kashmir is closest to my heart and I will take it forward, towards a resolution," said President Musharraf while inaugurating the Rs 130 billion Neelum-Jhelum Hydroelectric project aimed at generating 969 MW power.
President Musharraf said some progress has been made towards finding a political resolution of the lingering Kashmir dispute, but pointed at the slowdown in the past few months.
"Again there are indications [and] again we will make progress towards dispute resolution with India," said the President, adding that Pakistan wants to resolve all disputes with India, including that of Kashmir, politically. He said he was proud to have made some contribution towards it, but pointed that "unless there is clarity in the hearts we cannot move on effectively ... we have to go for dispute resolution."
The President said the progress on the dispute has come to a stage where it can be resolved politically. He said its resolution was important both for Pakistan and India otherwise, he warned their economic, trade ties and relations can never normalise.
AJK Prime Minister Sardar Attique Ahmed expressed his gratitude to the people and the Government of Pakistan for supporting the Kashmiris; whether it was the lingering dispute, the October 8 earthquake or construction of mega projects. He also appreciated the role of the armed forces of the country in reaching out to the people whenever they needed help.
Attique was also grateful to the Chinese people and the government for their strong commitment towards the socio-economic uplift of the people of Pakistan. He said the peace process initiated by President Pervez Musharraf will go a long way in bringing peace to this part of the world. He said the progress has been slow, but hoped that the process will continue.
The Chinese ambassador to Pakistan, Luo Zhaohui, said his government has always cherished its ties with the people of Pakistan and were working on several projects to strengthen their economic bonds.
He expressed optimism that the Sino-Pak ties will further strengthen in the days ahead. saying the Chinese investors were fully confident of investing in Pakistan. The Chinese envoy said the Neelum-Jhelum Hydroelectric project was the largest in Pakistan, and hoped that security would be ensured for its workers.
Caretaker Water and Power Minister Tariq Majeed said several projects were underway to meet the country''s power needs. He also mentioned details of the Vision 2016 that includes construction of five dams, aimed at generating 20,000 MW of power. He said the Thar coal will also be utilised to produce 3000 MW of electricity. Tariq Majeed said the project will produce low-cost energy, reduce dependence on thermal generation and reduce greenhouse emissions.