Pak. wants revival of peace process

ISLAMABAD, FEB. 19. Pakistan today proposed to India a relaunch of the derailed peace process and urged New Delhi to implement commitments Islamabad says it made a year ago. The Foreign Minister, Mr. Abdul Sattar, in an interview with Reuters television on the eve of the first anniversary of the Lahore summit, said the Pakistani military ruler Gen. Pervez Musharraf's Government would join the process ``honestly and sincerely''. ``On the first anniversary we can look back upon the last year as a lost opportunity, as an opportunity that has been missed, perhaps wilfully,'' he said.

The historic bus trip to Lahore by the Indian Prime Minister, Mr. Atal Behari Vajpayee, on February 20 last year set in motion a dialogue that was ended by the fighting in May in Kargil. In the Lahore Declaration, Mr. Vajpayee and then Pakistani Prime Minister, Mr. Nawaz Sharif, had pledged to intensify efforts to settle Kashmir and other disputes and take immediate steps to avoid an accidental nuclear clash.

Mr. Sattar said the Lahore trip by Mr. Vajpayee, who has refused to talk with the military Government which overthrew Mr. Sharif last October, had turned out to be a ``will-o'-the wisp... because statements were not followed by actions and he (Mr. Vajpayee) later interpreted the agreements contrary to Pakistan's understanding.

``Recent statements of the Indian Prime Minister are full of threats and bluster. He has spoken of India's readiness for war, he has even threatened that India might use nuclear weapons. We consider all that very regrettable.'' The Lahore Declaration anniversary would have meaning only if there is a renewal of will to fulfil the pledge that was made; otherwise it will be just another day, adding to the waste of days and months and years over a long time, he said.

``From this day, let us remind the Prime Minister of India, please begin the process of implementing your word. We assure him that the Government of Pervez Musharraf will join that process honestly and sincerely in order to find a solution that is acceptable to the people of the state of Kashmir.''

Mr. Sattar said India had taken a rigid stand against third-party mediation in the Kashmir dispute although the two countries could never settle any significant dispute through bilateral dialogue. Mr. Sattar said the U.S. President, Mr. Bill Clinton, could break the Kashmir stalemate when he visits South Asia in March.

Mr. Clinton is scheduled to visit India and Bangladesh but has not said whether he will go to Pakistan. India rejects the idea of foreign mediation in the Kashmir conflict and has warned Mr. Clinton against visiting Pakistan. ``What he (Clinton) has in mind as a means of propelling this stalemate into a forward gear - of course, we hope - we will hear from him should he come to Pakistan,'' Mr Sattar said.

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