Musharraf focusses on Kashmiris' wishes

By B. Muralidhar Reddy

ISLAMABAD, AUG. 13. The Pakistan military ruler and President, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, has said that his country favoured a dialogue with India for peaceful settlement of the Kashmir issue ``in accordance with the wishes of the Kashmiri people''.

In an informal talk with correspondents at the Rawalpindi railway station here this evening, Gen. Musharraf maintained that this was the burden of his statements in Delhi as well as Agra during his recent visit to India.

``I would like to urge all the leadership across that they must stick to whatever actually happened there and they must not get involved in statements which are not the reality'', he said.

Pakistan has recently accused India of distorting the truth about the deliberations of the Agra summit and complained that some of the statements made by Indian leaders in recent days were in `poor taste'. The Pakistan Foreign Office contested some of the statements made by the Prime Minister, Mr. Atal Behari Vajpayee, in the course of his reply in the Lok Sabha on the Agra summit debate last week.

In another development, the Election Commission of Pakistan has asked all political parties to submit a statement of its finances and accounts within 75 days of the close of the financial year (July-June) to the Director-General Audit, Islamabad under Political Parties Rules 1986.

The directive of the Commission to the political parties to submit their accounts by September 13 assumes significance as Gen. Musharraf is expected soon to announce the schedule for the provincial assembly elections. Under a deadline of the Pakistan Supreme Court, the military government has to complete the elections by October 2002.

A statement of the Pakistan Election Commission said these statements would have to be submitted under the provisions of Section 3A of the Political Parties Act, 1962. Under the provision, every political party is required to submit a statement of its finances and accounts in 75 days of the close of the financial year (July-June) to the Director-General Audit, Islamabad.

According to Election Commission of Pakistan, the financial year, 2000-2001 has closed on June 30, 2001. All such political parties, who have not so far furnished their accounts for audit, are advised in their own interest, to submit the statements of their finances and accounts to the Director-General Audit.

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Section  : International
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