Almaty, June 4: Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee today said that India is willing to discuss all issues including Kashmir with Pakistan but for that cross-border terrorism has to end. “If we see that action on the ground corresponds to the promises made by Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf, we will naturally take appropriate consequent steps,” he told a 16-nation security summit here.
Vajpayee was responding to the appeal made by Musharraf to India to return to the dialogue table to defuse the current tensions between the two countries. Addressing the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) after Musharraf`s speech, Vajpayee said that he heard the Pakistani President talk about tensions in South Asia and offer a dialogue between India and Pakistan.
“As far as Indo-Pak dialogue is concerned,” he said, “It is India which has always taken the initiative for it…In the space of the last four years, I have been to Lahore and invited President Musharraf to Agra.”
Seated across the table with Musharraf, he observed, “We have repeatedly said that we are willing to discuss all issues with pakistan. But for that cross-border terrorism has to end.” Bureau Report