'Pak. should exercise restraint: Omar Abdullah

CAPE TOWN, SEPT. 4. Taking strong exception to the recent statements by Pakistani leaders on Kashmir, India today said if Islamabad did not exercise restraint, the Vajpayee-Musharraf meeting at New York later this month was unlikely to make any headway.

``It is expected in order to achieve success after summit-level talks at Agra that maturity and restraint is exercised supportively to maintain the commitment towards dialogue by Pakistan,'' the Minister of State for External Affairs, Mr. Omar Abdullah, who arrived here on a two-day official visit, told PTI.

He said given the tone and the substance of the recent statements by the Pakistani President, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, and the Foreign Minister, Mr. Abdul Sattar, and ``the fact that Pakistan is refraining from learning from the recent experience and is not exhibiting any desire publicly to work towards stability and cooperation in the region, I wonder if any purpose will be served by the meeting in New York.''

Mr. Abdullah was reacting to a statement made by Gen. Musharraf during his address in the Legislative Assembly of northern areas where he had stated that solving of Kashmir issue was a pre- condition to normalisation of ties between the two countries.

OIC links J&K to PalestinePTI reports from Durban:

A day after Pakistan raised the Kashmir issue at the World Conference Against Racism (WCAR), the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) has sought to compare the developments in Jammu and Kashmir to those in Palestine.

``Turning a blind eye to such crimes can only create powderkegs of tension, disputes and conflicts worldwide as best exemplified and evidenced in what occurred in Bosnia-Herzegovina in recent years and what is happening in Jammu and Kashmir, Palestine and other areas of the world,'' an OIC statement said.

The statement at the WCAR plenary was made by the OIC Secretary- General, Mr. Abdelouahed Belkeziz, last night.

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