World | Pakistan
Army chief speaks of national consensus
Army chief General Ashfaq Kiyani spoke of achieving a national consensus on Kashmir while addressing army officers near the Line of Control (LoC) with India, a military statement said on Wednesday.
- By Shahid Hussain, Correspondent
- Published: 00:29 March 14, 2008
Islamabad: Army chief General Ashfaq Kiyani spoke of achieving a national consensus on Kashmir while addressing army officers near the Line of Control (LoC) with India, a military statement said on Wednesday.
Kiyani reaffirmed the commitment of the army to the Kashmir cause in line with the aspirations of the nation, it said.
The statement said Kiyani visited forward locations near the LoC, which separates parts of the region under the control of the two neighbours, and addressed officers, junior commissioned officers and non-commissioned officers.
A bilateral dialogue process begun in 2004 to resolve all outstanding issues, including the row over Kashmir, has slowed down after the judicial and political crisis erupted early last year but is likely to pick up after power is transferred to a new government.
Elusive solution
The dialogue led to substantial improvement in relations between the two countries but produced no breakthrough on Kashmir despite regular back channel diplomacy.
Since taking power in 1999 through a coup, President Pervez Musharraf had been calling for reciprocal flexibility by the two countries to find a solution acceptable to both as well as to the people of Kashmir.
Top leaders of the Pakistan People Peoples Party and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, which won the election and are set to form a coalition government, have indicated they would pursue the dialogue for a just, peaceful settlement of the thorny dispute.
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