Pak says it'll consider any US proposal on Kashmir

[digitaltiger]

ISLAMABAD: Apparently bouyed by US president-elect Barack Obama's offer to play a role in finding a solution to the Kashmir problem, Pakistan on
Thursday said it was ready to consider any constructive proposal from Washington to address the vexed issue with India.

"Sooner this dispute is resolved the better off the region would be," Foreign Office Spokesman Muhammad Sadiq told reporters here.

He was replying to a question on Kashmir with reference to Obama's offer to help resolve the issue during an interview to a US magazine while campaigning for the November 4 presidential polls.

Sadiq said Pakistan was ready to look into any constructive proposal from the United States to resolve the vexed issue -- whether bilaterally, through a multilateral organisation or third party mediation.

He said Pakistan looks forward to continued constructive engagement with India to address all outstanding issues and achieve mutually beneficial cooperative relationship.

Replying to a question about Chenab river flow, the Foreign Office Spokesman said Pakistan was pursuing the matter with India at technical, diplomatic and political levels.

He said Indian leadership has affirmed its commitment to the implementation of the Indus Waters Treaty and hoped that New Delhi would resolve the issue at the earliest in accordance with the accord and in the spirit of promoting good neighbourly relations.

To another question, he said the prisoners issue between Pakistan and India was a humanitarian matter. Pakistan has sought the release of its nationals from Indian jails while facilitating the release of Indian prisoners in Pakistan.

He said 29 Pakistani prisoners will be repatriated to this country on Friday through Wagah border.

Pak says it'll consider any US proposal on Kashmir-India-The Times of India

 

[Neo]

Pakistan not averse to Obama settling Kashmir dispute​

NEW DELHI: Pakistan said on Thursday it was not averse to US president-elect Barack Obama using his good offices to settle the Kashmir issue.

Islamabad welcomes any step towards the resolution of the Kashmir issue once for all, Pakistan High Commissioner to India Shahid Malik told Delhi-based foreign press corps.

“Pakistan is ready to consider any constructive proposal for addressing this dispute whether bilaterally or through a multilateral organisation or third party mediation. The sooner this dispute is resolved the better the region would be,” he said when asked to comment on Obama’s statement and India’s uneasiness with America’s renewed pro-active role in the region.

About the forthcoming assembly elections in Indian-held Kashmir, Malik said the elections there mean nothing to Pakistan. “We feel Jammu and Kashmir is a disputed territory recognised by the UN and elections would not change this character,” he said.

“Pakistan’s position on the resolution of the Kashmir dispute is well known. The UN Security Council resolutions call for the settlement of this dispute through a plebiscite which essentially makes Kashmiris a party to the dispute,” he told members of the Foreign Correspondents Club.

On the water dispute between the two countries, he accused India of filling Baglihar Dam at a higher rate than permitted under the Indus Water Treaty (IWT). He, however, hoped that India would resolve the issue at the earliest in accordance with the IWT.