Islamabad: Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on Saturday said Pakistan saw India's offer of talks "positively", saying solutions to problems between the two countries cannot be found through wars.
Welcoming his counterpart Manmohan Singh's offer of
talks with Pakistan, Gilani said: "Wars are not the solution,
dialogue is the only solution".
Singh's remarks were an outcome of the meeting between
the two premiers at Sharm el-Sheikh in July, when they had
agreed that dialogue was the only way to resolve outstanding
issues, he said.
"He (Singh) had agreed that there is no other way but
dialogue... We see this positively," Gilani told newsmen in
the northwestern city of Peshawar, responding to a question on
Singh's recent comments.
However, Gilani made it clear that any discussions
between the two countries would be positive only if they
included "core issues" like Kashmir.
"Till the core issues are resolved, the dream of
achieving peace in the region will not be fulfilled," he said.
While extending the offer of talks to Pakistan, Singh
had said the dialogue would be productive only if Pakistan
took steps to control terrorism emanating from its territory.
Gilani visited Peshawar to take stock of the security
situation in the wake of a devastating car bomb attack in a
commercial hub that killed nearly 120 people earlier this
week.
Peshawar has witnessed several major terrorist attacks
in the past few weeks.
The Premier chaired a high-level meeting on the security
situation that was attended by North West Frontier Province
Chief Minister Amir Haider Khan Hoti and federal and
provincial ministers.
"We are in a state of war... The militants are working
on a foreign agenda," he said.
Gilani said the world community should not doubt
Pakistan's ability and determination to fight terrorism and
extremism.
He called on the international community to enhance the
capacity of Pakistan's law enforcement agencies by providing
training and equipment.
"We have the will, ability and resolve to take on
terrorists but we need to build up our capacity," he said.
Bureau Report
First Published: Saturday, October 31, 2009, 18:44