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Musharraf Reiterates Open Mind in Summit With India
Pakistan will join India at the summit in New Delhi next month with an open mind and an open agenda focusing on Kashmir but is willing to discuss all other issues as well.
This was reiterated by President General Pervez Musharraf on Tuesday while exchanging views with a group of senior Pakistani editors as part of his program to consult representatives of all important segments of the society prior to his visit to India, according to an official announcement released here.
Musharraf said he was keenly aware of the serious impediments in the way of normalization of relations between Pakistan and India but as one who believed in peace and harmony and in sharing of the fruits of development also by the people of the South Asian Sub-continent, he was "optimistic that the Indian leadership would respond positively to the setting in motion of a process that would facilitate resolution of the core issue of Kashmir."
Asked what made him optimistic even if cautiously so, Musharraf said he sensed a realization on the other side also for a resolution of the issue of Kashmir which was not the case on previous occasions when the two countries had met and discussed bilateral relations.
While saying that he was willing to discuss the relationship in its entirety and expected reciprocity from the other side, he, however, cautioned against placing too much hope in this visit alone as the complexities of the problem and the mistrust of half a century could not be removed overnight.
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