Pakistani military regiment must use its influence over militants fighting in Kashmir to cease their activities, French ambassador to Islamabad Yannick Gerard has said. Stating that there was no military solution to the conflict over Kashmir, Gerard told in a seminar that European Union (EU) on Saturday in Lahore that the EU had been urging both the nations since the Kargil conflict last year to respect the Line of Control, agree to cessation of firing and end violence to create congenial atmosphere necessary for peace. To a question on the possibility of EU's mediation in Kashmir, he said such mediation was possible only when all the parties involved requested for it, and accepted it.
That is precisely why the EU had been urging the two neighbours to resume talks. Both the countries have to resolve their problems bilaterally.
Gerard said that the EU appreciated the upcoming local bodies polls in Pakistan announced by the military. But, he said, Islamabad needed to try to take more tangible steps to return the country to democracy at all levels.

Bureau Report