The Hindu : National : Opportunity for peace must not be wasted: PM

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Apr 07, 2004

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National

Opportunity for peace must not be wasted: PM

NEW DELHI, APRIL 6. India would like to ensure that the current opportunity of creating peace with Pakistan is not squandered and that the political leadership in both the countries should "respond," the Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, has said.

"This past January in Islamabad we made another promising start. We would, of course, like to ensure that this opportunity is not squandered," he said in an interview to Newsweek magazine.

Mr. Vajpayee said the India-Pakistan cricket series had demonstrated how goodwill and friendship could be promoted between the people of the two countries."The political leadership of both countries has to respond to these feelings," he said.

Asked as to what India could do to remove the Kashmir conflict from being the biggest obstacle to peace, he said "the biggest obstacle to peace is mistrust and suspicion.''

"Once our two countries interact more regularly, trade with each other and realise the benefits of peaceful co-existence, then we will find solutions to every problem, including our differences on Jammu and Kashmir. Both India and Pakistan have to work for this."

Asked whether he was confident of getting another five-year term, Mr. Vajpayee said,"The people of India have seen our performance and are satisfied with it. We have earned their trust. We have also placed before them our vision and our priorities for the future."

He said that by and large the mood in the country was that his Government did not get enough time to accomplish its agenda and therefore deserved another five-year term.

On Muslims joining the BJP, he described it as another instance of "the impossible becoming possible." "Our Muslim brethren have seen for themselves that our Government has not been discriminating against them."

— PTI

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