Pakistan calls for India talks
2010-05-24 20:05
Islamabad - Pakistan on Monday called for "sustained and meaningful" dialogue with India after Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said a trust deficit was the main obstacle in ties between the nuclear-armed rivals.
Speaking at a news conference in New Delhi, Singh said India was willing to discuss all outstanding issues with Pakistan but "the trust gap is (the) biggest problem".
Pakistan said it agreed that mistrust should be dispelled.
"Obviously, there is a mutual trust deficit and we need to build trust between our two countries on solid foundations so that our two countries and our people can live in peace and prosperity," said Pakistani foreign ministry spokesperson Abdul Basit.
"To this end, Pakistan looks forward to a sustained and meaningful engagement with India with a view to free our relations from all disputes and conflicts."
Relations between the neighbours, who have fought three wars since 1947, went into a freeze after Pakistan-based militants attacked the Indian city of Mumbai in 2008, killing 166 people.
But Singh and Pakistani Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani met on the sidelines of a regional conference last month and agreed to get talks going again to tackle their disputes.
For India, the main issue in its relations with Pakistan is security, with Islamist militants, who India says are backed by Pakistan, attacking Indian security forces in the disputed Kashmir region and launching attacks in Indian cities.
Imperative need
Pakistan says the core dispute is over Muslim-majority Kashmir, which both countries claim in full but rule in part.
Talking to leaders of Pakistan-ruled Kashmir, Gilani said his government remained committed to a peaceful, negotiated settlement of the Kashmir dispute.
"There is an imperative need to end the long legacy of hostility and distrust and to work towards a peaceful solution of the Kashmir dispute in accordance with the wishes of the people of Kashmir," the prime minister's office quoted him as saying in a statement.
Pakistan would continue to support the "just cause" of Kashmiri people, he said.
India accuses Pakistan of training and sending Muslim guerrillas across their de facto border in Kashmir to fight Indian rule.
Pakistan denies the charge and says it supports what it calls a freedom struggle by the people of Kashmir against what it sees as the brutal and illegitimate Indian occupation of the region.
In an illustration of the underlying mistrust between them, Pakistani and Indian forces traded fire across their de facto border in Kashmir on Saturday, and then swapped accusations over who started it.
One Pakistani soldier was killed in the clash, the Pakistani army said.
