Islamabad, May 12: Visiting US Secretary of State Christina Rocca today held talks with Pakistani leaders on a host of bilateral and regional issues, including the progress in Indo-Pak dialogue process, with Islamabad insisting that durable peace is possible only if Kashmir issue is resolved keeping in view the aspirations of Kashmiri people. Rocca, who is here on a three-day visit, met Foreign Minister Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri and discussed bilateral and regional issues including the progress of the India-Pak dialogue to resolve Kashmir and other outstanding issues, state-run PTV reported. It said Kasuri made it clear that durable peace is possible only if the Kashmir issue is resolved keeping in view the aspirations of the people of Kashmir. Kasuri and Rocca also discussed the situation in Afghanistan and Iraq, it said. Later Rocca also met President Pervez Musharraf and premier Zafarullah Khan Jamali.
Rocca came amid statements by US officials in Afghanistan that they would crack down hard on al-Qaeda and Taliban militants holed up in the tribal areas bordering Afghanistan.

Bureau Report