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U.S. urged to facilitate Vajpayee, Musharraf talks

By B. Muralidhar Reddy

ISLAMABAD Aug. 31. The Pakistan National Kashmir Committee today urged the United States to facilitate a dialogue between the Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee, and the Pakistan President, Pervez Musharraf, in New York next month. The Pakistan National Kashmir Committee Chairman and former Prime Minister of Pak. Occupied Kashmir, Qayyum Khan, told Lisa Curtis, senior Advisor to the U.S. Assistant Secretary of State, Christina Rocca, here today that unless Islamabad and New Delhi returned to the negotiating table the situation in the region could become `grave'.

Ms. Lisa, who was in Srinagar earlier this week for a first-hand assessment of the situation, met Mr. Khan as part of her mission to learn first-hand the viewpoint of Kashmiris on both sides. Besides, Mr. Khan, the American representative also held discussions with a Minister in the PoK Government.In his discussion with Ms. Lisa, the former President of PoK told her that in the assessment of the Government of Pakistan and the PoK, the scheduled Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir in September/October would not help defuse the tension in the region.

Interestingly, Mr. Khan did not oppose the election. His emphasis was on the need for `simultaneous' progress on talks between Pakistan and India on resolution of the Kashmir issue. "For us elections in Kashmir are not important. We believe some other steps need to be taken for durable peace in the region and the U.S. has a major role to play'', he told Ms. Lisa.

The former President of PoK told the American representative that the forthcoming United Nations General Assembly session provided a good opportunity to move forward on resolution of the Kashmir tangle. "We would miss a golden chance if India and Pakistan continue with their rhetoric at the General Assembly. The U.S. could facilitate a dialogue between the two leaders of India and Pakistan''.

On her part, Ms. Lisa is believed to have told the former PoK premier that Washington would continue its efforts to bring both India and Pakistan to the negotiating table to resolve all their differences.

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