Date:20/05/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/05/20/stories/2008052059911000.htm

National

Kashmir “ripe” for solution, says Bush

Islamabad: Taking note of “major and significant developments” in India-Pakistan ties, U.S. President George W Bush has said the Kashmir issue is “ripe” for resolution.

The “Kashmir issue is ripe for solution,” he was quoted by Pakistani officials as saying during his meeting with Premier Yousuf Raza Gillani on Sunday, on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum for West Asia in Egypt.

Mr. Bush’s remarks came ahead of a meeting between External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee and his Pakistani counterpart Shah Mehmood Qureshi here on May 21 to review the composite dialogue process.

During the hour-long talks in the resort of Sharm-el-Sheikh, Mr. Bush said he saw “major and significant developments” in Pakistan-India relations but did not elaborate.

He said he was happy that the two sides had made a lot of progress in their talks on Kashmir and for comprehensive peace in the region.

Briefing journalists after the Bush-Gillani talks, the Pakistan Prime Minister’s Special Assistant on Finance, Hina Rabbani Khar, and Additional Foreign Secretary Zameer Akram said the U.S. President appreciated the New Delhi-Islamabad dialogue process and said he had no doubt that Kashmir was “ripe for solution.” — PTI