India, Pakistan agree to continue peace dialogue
NEW DELHI, Thursday (Reuters) - South Asian rivals India and Pakistan
have agreed they would not let terrorism impede their peace process and
remained committed to a peaceful resolution of all disputes, including
Kashmir.
The nuclear-armed neighbours issued a joint statement after Indian
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf
held a late night meeting on Wednesday on the sidelines of the U.N.
General Assembly in New York. "The two leaders ... reiterated their
pledge not to let terrorism impede the peace process," said the
statement read out by Musharraf to reporters in Singh's presence.
"They expressed their commitment to ensure a peaceful settlement of
all pending issues including Jammu and Kashmir to the satisfaction of
both sides."
"They agreed that possible options for a peaceful, negotiated
settlement in this regard should continue to be pursued in a sincere
spirit and purposeful manner," Musharraf said in the televised address
to the media. Television reports in India and Pakistan said Musharraf
invited Singh to visit Pakistan and the invitation had been accepted.
Ties between the neighbours have improved since they launched a peace
process in January 2004, but they have still to make substantive
progress on a core dispute over the divided territory of Kashmir, which
both claim in full.
in 2002 but agreed to a ceasefire in Kashmir in late 2003.
In the joint statement, India and Pakistan also welcomed the recent
release of prisoners on both sides and agreed to continue this process
on a "humanitarian basis".
The rivals swapped hundreds of prisoners at a border post on Monday
to foster goodwill as they seek to push their sluggish peace process
forward. |