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New chapter in Indo-Pak history begins
Islamabad, Jan 07: Pakistan`s President Pervez Musharraf said history had been made on Tuesday (January 6) with a deal to resume talks with India, and termed it a good beginning in a bid to resolve their dispute over Kashmir.
Islamabad, Jan 07: Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf said history had been made on Tuesday (January 6) with a deal to resume talks with India, and termed it a good beginning in a bid to resolve their dispute over Kashmir.
India and Pakistan announced in a joint statement earlier on Tuesday that they had agreed to start a broad dialogue next month, after a ground-breaking meeting between Musharraf and Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee.
"History has been made. In that we have arrived at an agreement on taking this normalisation process forward and setting a framework to its logical end, to its culmination," Musharraf told a news conference.
A joint statement said the two sides had agreed to start a dialogue in February, although details had to be worked out.
Musharraf paid credit to Vajpayee's "vision" and "statesmanship" which made the deal possible, and to the flexibility shown by the negotiating teams on both sides.
"There are no winners or losers and we must not get involved in who won or who lost. I think victory is for the world, for all those peace loving people of the world. Victory is for all the people of India and Pakistan, Victory is for the people of Kashmir who have suffered for all these years, who are suffering. I would victory is to the moderates in India and moderates in Pakistan."
Musharraf said he had not discussed possible solutions to the decades-old dispute over Kashmir with Vajpayee, saying that would come when the dialogue got under way. And he said there was "certainly" no timeframe set to reach a final deal.
The two sides almost came to war in 2002 over the divided Himalayan region of Kashmir after an attack on the parliament in New Delhi that India blamed on Pakistani-backed militants.
But in April, the 79-year-old Vajpayee launched a final bid for peace in his lifetime and in November, Pakistan announced a ceasefire on the front line dividing the two armies in Kashmir.
Musharraf highlighted Pakistan's pledge to prevent its territory being used to support terrorism, and repeated a vow to stamp out religious extremism.
And despite two attempts on his life last month blamed on Islamic militants, he vowed not to let extremists sabotage any deal.
"So no extremism will be allowed here in Pakistan. We want to eradicate extremism from our society. But having said that, yes I totally agree with you that there will be a fallout in the extremists."
Anyone with their "finger on the pulse" would see that the people of both countries wanted peace, he added.
"This is a beginning, but a good beginning. This statement is not an end in itself, obviously, its a beginning. But a good beginning has been made. The route forward.. we will move forward with hard work, with sincerity and with trust in each other. Pakistan will play its role effectively in its desire and sincerity to move forward," he said.
India accuses Pakistan of arming and training militants fighting Indian rule in Kashmir and had refused to talk until it had evidence Pakistan was no longer encouraging "cross-border terrorism".
Pakistan denies fuelling the militancy and accuses India of human rights abuses in its part of Kashmir.
Musharraf vowed to involve Kashmiris in the negotiating process but gave no details. Before coming to Islamabad, Vajpayee cautioned that any solution to the decades-old dispute would need time, and observers also warned against expecting a quick deal.
Bureau Report
"There are no winners or losers and we must not get involved in who won or who lost. I think victory is for the world, for all those peace loving people of the world. Victory is for all the people of India and Pakistan, Victory is for the people of Kashmir who have suffered for all these years, who are suffering. I would victory is to the moderates in India and moderates in Pakistan."
Musharraf said he had not discussed possible solutions to the decades-old dispute over Kashmir with Vajpayee, saying that would come when the dialogue got under way. And he said there was "certainly" no timeframe set to reach a final deal.
The two sides almost came to war in 2002 over the divided Himalayan region of Kashmir after an attack on the parliament in New Delhi that India blamed on Pakistani-backed militants.
But in April, the 79-year-old Vajpayee launched a final bid for peace in his lifetime and in November, Pakistan announced a ceasefire on the front line dividing the two armies in Kashmir.
Musharraf highlighted Pakistan's pledge to prevent its territory being used to support terrorism, and repeated a vow to stamp out religious extremism.
And despite two attempts on his life last month blamed on Islamic militants, he vowed not to let extremists sabotage any deal.
"So no extremism will be allowed here in Pakistan. We want to eradicate extremism from our society. But having said that, yes I totally agree with you that there will be a fallout in the extremists."
Anyone with their "finger on the pulse" would see that the people of both countries wanted peace, he added.
"This is a beginning, but a good beginning. This statement is not an end in itself, obviously, its a beginning. But a good beginning has been made. The route forward.. we will move forward with hard work, with sincerity and with trust in each other. Pakistan will play its role effectively in its desire and sincerity to move forward," he said.
India accuses Pakistan of arming and training militants fighting Indian rule in Kashmir and had refused to talk until it had evidence Pakistan was no longer encouraging "cross-border terrorism".
Pakistan denies fuelling the militancy and accuses India of human rights abuses in its part of Kashmir.
Musharraf vowed to involve Kashmiris in the negotiating process but gave no details. Before coming to Islamabad, Vajpayee cautioned that any solution to the decades-old dispute would need time, and observers also warned against expecting a quick deal.
Bureau Report