Tuesday, Jun 10, 2003
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Mr. Jamali, in an interview to Khaleej Times published today, said he would lead the Pakistani side at the summit talks with Mr. Vajpayee but would not resign if the parleys failed to resolve the Kashmir dispute, because he believed in trying again. Asked if he would follow Mr. Vajpayee who had reportedly said he would resign if he failed to solve the Kashmir dispute, Mr. Jamali said, ``if Mr. Vajpayee had said so, that is his wish and will. It is entirely up to him. But in politics the political approach has to be taken into consideration''. He said, ``the mechanics (for the summit) have to be worked out. We are inching towards a rapprochement step by step. A few steps have been taken by us and a few by India''. The key issue of Kashmir ``is there and it remains there as a principal issue. If other countries can come together and talk among themselves, why can't India and Pakistan do so?'', he asked. Mr. Vajpayee in an interview to the German magazine Der Spiegel earlier this month had said he would retire if his peace initiative with Pakistan failed. He did not elaborate. Mr. Jamali said the U.S. was only trying to ``facilitate'' a dialogue between India and Pakistan and was not exerting any pressure on Islamabad to accelerate normalisation of ties. ``There is no U.S. pressure on Pakistan. The well-wishers of Pakistan and India have been trying to bring the two countries to the negotiating table, and we are doing that,'' Mr. Jamali said. ``So there is a difference between involvement and facilitation. They have tried to facilitate a dialogue between Pakistan and India, between myself and Mr. Vajpayee,'' he said. Hoping that the leadership in India would ``see reason'' and agree to resolve all outstanding bilateral issues with Pakistan, Mr. Jamali said it would be in the interest of the people of the two countries as well as for the sake of a peaceful, stable and forward-looking South Asia. The Prime Minister said that during his telephonic talks with Mr. Vajpayee, he had suggested exchanges in hockey and cricket as part of economic and cultural exchanges. On Pakistan's ties with the U.S., Mr. Jamali said they were in the interest of Pakistan. ``The decision to offer support to the U.S. in the fight against terrorism is mutually beneficial and in our national interest. Pakistan has been a victim of terrorism and our efforts to rid the society of the menace predate the events of September 11,'' he said. Denying there was extra pressure on Islamabad from the U.S. to deal with the Al-Qaeda, Mr. Jamali said the role Pakistan was playing as a frontline state in the fight against terrorism was well known and appreciated widely. He said about 500 terrorism suspects had been apprehended by Pakistan security forces since September 11, 2000 and cited the arrests of top Al-Qaeda activists such as Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, Abu Zubaida and Ramzi Al Shibh as ``major achievements''. — PTI
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