Kashmir tops cross-border meet

Islamabad: Pakistan will continue its moral, political and diplomatic support to right of self-determination of people of Kashmir but at the same also keep improving relations with India, Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf said ahead of a meeting on Thursday.

The foreign affairs ministry announced that a meeting of Pakistan-India Working Group on Cross-LoC confidence building measures will be held in Islamabad on Thursday.

“We want settlement of the dispute over Kashmir in line with the aspirations of its people,” Ashraf told a public meeting in Neelum Valley in Pakistan-administered part of Kashmir near the Line of Control (LoC) separating it from the India-administered northern third of the disputed Himalayan region.

A ceasefire has been in effect on the LoC since 2003, which Pakistan and India brought about as a confidence building measure. The two countries also allowed trade across the de facto border and also facilitated travel between the two parts.

Kashmir has been on the agenda in a comprehensive bilateral dialogue but talks have yield no progress towards breaking a deadlock over the thorny issue while both countries continue to reiterate commitment to seeking a negotiated solution.

Ashraf said Pakistan wants resolution of all issues with India, including the row over Kashmir, through the process of dialogue in the interest of peace, stability and development in the region. “We believe in good neighbourly relations with India.”

Ashraf, who took over the top office last month, said Pakistan-India peace dialogue enjoys international support. He said during his visit to Saudi Arabia earlier this week, King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz welcomed improvement in relations between the two South Asian countries when he called on the monarch.

Pakistan delegation will be headed by Zehra Akbari, Director General (South Asia), Ministry of Foreign Affairs, while the Indian side will be led by Y.K. Sinha, Joint Secretary (PAI), Ministry of External Affairs.

The meeting is being held in pursuance of the decision taken during the foreign secretary level talks between the two countries held earlier this month.

The working group will discuss confidence building measures to facilitate travel and trade across the LoC, a ministry statement said.