By IANS,
Islamabad/Srinagar : Once again harping on the K word, Pakistan said Wednesday that neither the regional situation nor sub-continental ties could improve till New Delhi accepted that the Kashmir issue was the main source of conflict between the two countries.
It was unfortunate that the Indian position on Kashmir went against UN resolutions and aspirations of the Kashmiri people, Online quoted Foreign Office spokesman Abdul Basit as telling a private TV channel in Islamabad.
The remarks came on the day Indian Home Minister P. Chidambaram said in Srinagar that the government was working on an honourable solution to the Kashmir problem and that separatist voices would be heard but stressed that there would be “no place for violence”.
He also said that infiltration from Pakistan was on the rise.
“There will be a unique, honourable and acceptable solution to the problem in Jammu and Kashmir. We are working on it,” Chidambaram told reporters on the sidelines of the All India Editors’ conference on social and infrastructural issues.
The home minister said that the government was not afraid of talking to anyone.
“We accept separatist voices. We will talk to all shades of opinion in the state, but there is no place for violence,” he said.
According to Basit, it was unfortunate that except for India, the entire world had appreciated the steps Pakistan had taken against the menace of terrorism.
He also expressed the hope that the Indian attitude would change, adding that Pakistan itself is facing terrorism.
Responding to a question, he said the time had come to solve all issues between Pakistan and India through talks, saying the Indian leadership, in meetings, had expressed their desire for solving all issues.
Basit said there were some elements in India who do not want improved relations between Pakistan and India.
Pakistani Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani and his Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh had met in July in what was the first high-level contact after the 26/11 Mumbai mayhem, in the wake of which New Delhi had suspended the sub-continental peace process.
Subsequently, Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi and his Indian counterpart S.M. Krishna had met in New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly session.