OTTAWA, 16 June — The foreign ministers of Pakistan and Canada yesterday held wide-ranging talks with Ottawa appreciating Islamabad’s efforts for peace in South Asia.
The 50-minute talks between Foreign Minister Abdul Sattar and his Canadian counterpart John Manley were “productive and very useful” said a spokesman for Pakistan Embassy here.
He said the talks were held in a very relaxed atmosphere with foreign ministers exchanging views on various subjects, including Kashmir and nuclear programs of India and Pakistan.
This was the first high-level contact between Islamabad and Ottawa since Pakistan conducted nuclear tests in May 1998. Manley reiterated his country’s firm stand against nuclear proliferation but expressed willingness to continue the process of normalization of relations between the two countries.
Sattar explained that his country was against nuclear arms race in the region. “We have always desired to resolve the Kashmir issue through peaceful means,” Sattar told Manley.
The proposed visit of Chief Executive Gen. Pervez Musharraf to India also figured in talks. Sattar briefed his Canadian counterpart on new developments aimed at settling the festering Kashmir row.
The foreign minister apprised Manley of economic reforms undertaken by Pakistan government and said that most of the international financial institutions, including IMF and the World Bank, have appreciated Islamabad’s efforts to revamp the country’s economic system.
