Islamabad: Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah
Mahmood Qureshi on Thursday said he may visit India in the first
quarter of 2011 if there was a breakthrough in talks between
the Foreign Secretaries of the two countries in Bhutan next
month.
Qureshi said the Foreign Secretaries would meet to
discuss the agenda for talks and he was likely to visit New
Delhi in the first quarter of the year if there was
breakthrough in talks between the top diplomats.
He said Pakistan is willing to hold talks with India
on all outstanding issues, including the "core issue" of
Kashmir.
"I will go there after seeking suggestions from the
Kashmiri people and their leadership and I will stand firm on
our principles," he said.
Qureshi`s comments came ahead of a meeting of the
Foreign Secretaries of India and Pakistan to be held on the
sidelines of a SAARC meet in Bhutan next month.
"Pakistan is willing to address the issue in line with
the aspirations of the Kashmiri people and UN resolutions,"
Qureshi said.
The "core issue" should be resolved for lasting peace
and stability in the region, he said.
He made the remarks during a meeting with legislators
of the Muslim Conference party.
He briefed the meeting about Pakistan`s stance on the
Kashmir issue.
The "prime minister" of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir,
Sardar Attique, attended the meeting.
Qureshi said there were "no two opinions" on
supporting the Kashmiris` right to self-determination.
"We may have differences over domestic issues and way
of thinking, but we all are one on the Kashmir issue," he
said.
Pakistan has raised the issue of the Kashmiri people
at all international forums and at the recent Kashmir
exhibition at the European Union parliament in Brussels, he
remarked.
"Pakistan has reiterated its historical and principled
stance on the Kashmir issue at UN General Assembly session,"
he said.
Kashmir has been part of the dialogue whenever the
Pakistani leadership meets its Indian counterpart and
Islamabad recognises that the Kashmiri people on both sides of
the Line of Control are the "third party to the issue",
Qureshi said.
PTI
