Pakistan, India Should Remove Tensions Immediately: Musharraf

Home>>World

Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Sunday, January 06, 2002

Pakistan, India Should Remove Tensions Immediately: Musharraf

Pakistan and India must, as a first step, remove the tensions in their relationship, said Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf here Sunday.

Pakistan and India must, as a first step, remove the tensions in their relationship, said Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf here Sunday.

Speaking at a press conference at the end of the 11th SARRC summit, Musharraf said there should be two stages in solving the problems in the relations between Pakistan and India.

The first stage is the immediate removal of tension, and then the second stage to "address all the disputes in the interests of both nations."

Musharraf and Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee as well as other South Asian leaders were here for the South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation (SAARC) summit, which was heldamid new tensions between the two nations following terrorist attacks at the Indian Assembly on December 13, 2001.

"We had informal interactions during the summit," Musharraf said, noting the interactions have created a better future for easing the tensions.

Though there is no time frame yet, he added, yet both sides should realize the urgency and dangerousness of the present situation on their borders and work to "formalize the interactions" with sincerity.

Talking about fight against terrorism, he said Pakistan has worked to remove militants, violence and extremists from the country for months. "The world should see what we are doing," and understand "the complexity facing Pakistan and India."

On the Kashmir issue, Musharraf said "We are aware of India's concern," but adding the two countries must be realistic and discuss everything so as to solve it.

When asked if there is any U.S. involvement in the easing of the present tensions, he told the press that there is no pressure.But he made it clear that there is need for a third party or somebody to intermediate.

Indian PM: No Discussion With Musharraf on Indo-Pak Tension

Pakistani President Offers "Friendship" to Indian PM