The United States has said that both India and Pakistan should enter into a bilateral dialogue and put all issues, including Kashmir, on the table so that other countries can assist them in getting a dialogue going. Revealing that he was in touch with leaders of both India and Pakistan and had spoken to President Pervez Musharraf on February 13 and external affairs minister Jaswant Singh on Friday, US Secretary of State Colin Powell, said that he urged both countries to put all issues between them on the table including the issue of Kashmir. “Let`s find a way diplomatically and politically out of this crisis situation with the two forces close to one another, and once we have found a way out of this, then the US wants to help the two sides to enter into a dialogue with each other, a dialogue where they can put all of the problems that exist between the two nations on a table and where others can assist them. This dialogue, as I said to Musharraf on Thursday when I met with him and as I also said when I spoke with foreign minister Jaswant Singh on Thursday morning, all issues have to be on the table, including Kashmir,” He told a private TV channel on Thursday night. “We are doing everything we can to diffuse the situation and find a way forward so that we can bring peace to Kashmir in a way that both countries can accept, in a way that brings hope to the Kashmiri people just as we have brought hope to the people of Afghanistan.”
“We have indicated to both India and Pakistan we will remain engaged to de-escalate the situation and get a dialogue going,” he said. Bureau Report