ISLAMABAD, 13 November 2003 — Foreign Minister Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri urged India to stop accusing Islamabad of aiding terrorist attacks in the disputed Kashmir region so that confidence-building measures between the South Asian nations can take hold.
Kasuri said Tuesday that New Delhi’s repeated allegations that Pakistan funds cross-border terrorism in Indian-administered Kashmir prevent the two from moving ahead with substantive peace talks.
“We want to have friendly relationships with India,” the foreign minister said at a news conference. He criticized India for proposing confidence-building measures, then allowing the dispute over Kashmir to prevent implementation.
“This isn’t how world leaders reach peace. To do that we must rise above these things,” Kasuri said.
He also discussed his recent official visits to Spain, Britain and Brussels, where he met with top European Union officials. Each time, Kasuri said, the discussions included issues such as Kashmir, complaints about human rights abuses in Pakistan, and a government crackdown on political opponents.
India and Pakistan both claim Kashmir in its entirety and have fought two of their three wars since becoming independent in 1947 over the region.
The Himalayan territory is divided between them by a cease-fire line that sees daily gunfire by their troops.
Pakistan repeatedly denies it funds militants, or allows them to cross from Pakistani soil into Indian-ruled Kashmir to fight for its independence.
In the last seven months, both India and Pakistan have proposed confidence-building measures aimed at improving strained relations. So far the only move forward has been restoration of full diplomatic ties, and the reopening of bus traffic between the two nuclear-armed nations.
