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Build on Musharraf's steps, says Annan
By B. Muralidhar Reddy
ISLAMABAD, JAN. 23. The United Nations Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, said here tonight that there was need for India and Pakistan to build on the steps taken by the Pakistan President, Pervez Musharraf, to defuse the tension between the two countries.
Mr. Annan, who arrived here tonight on a two-day visit to discuss among other things the Indo-Pak. tension and the situation in Afghanistan, said he was pleased with the January 12 address of Gen. Musharraf to the people of Pakistan. ``It is an important speech and a step in the right direction. We need to build on it to defuse the current tension'', he said.
Mr. Annan would meet Gen. Musharraf tomorrow and is later scheduled to hold a news conference along with the Pakistan Foreign Minister, Abdul Sattar.
A U.N. spokesman said Mr. Annan was likely to reiterate his appeal to India and Pakistan to sit across the table to resolve all their differences and emphasise the urgent need for reduction of tension.
Pakistan is bound to make use of the opportunity to make an appeal to Mr. Annan to prevail upon India to withdraw its troops from the frontline positions and agree for a dialogue with Islamabad for resolution of all differences.
Mr. Annan would be here on his way back from Tokyo where he attended the Afghanistan Reconstruction Conference on January 21 and 22. On January 25, he would be heading to Kabul and then on to Teheran.
Mr. Annan's last visit to Pakistan was disappointing to the Musharraf Government as the Secretary-General made a blunt statement on his arrival that the U.N. resolutions on Kashmir were ``not enforceable'' and that India and Pakistan should sit across the table to resolve the dispute.
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