ISLAMABAD, 24 May 2004 — Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf and India’s new Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in a telephone conversation yesterday pledged to improve ties and continue the peace process, state television reported.

Musharraf called Manmohan to greet him on his election as prime minister of India, Pakistan television reported. This was the first direct contact between the leaders since a change of government in India.

The two leaders expressed their desire to resolve “all outstanding issues including the Kashmir dispute through dialogue,” it said.

They also expressed the desire to work for the promotion of peace and stability in the region and enhancing bilateral cooperation, the report said.

Nuclear Talks Postponed

Pakistan and India have postponed nuclear talks scheduled for tomorrow and Wednesday because of the transition under way in India’s government as new Prime Minister Manmohan Singh takes power, the Foreign Ministry announced.

The Foreign Ministry said yesterday the postponement came at the request of India because a new foreign minister had not yet assumed office following last week’s tumultuous change of government and the Congress party’s return to power after an eight-year hiatus.

The talks are part of confidence-building measures between the nuclear-armed rivals and coincide with a wide-ranging dialogue on outstanding disputes launched in January by Pakistan and the former Indian government headed by the now ousted Atal Behari Vajpayee.

India has proposed that the nuclear talks be rescheduled to two days before lower-ranking foreign secretaries of the two countries meet under the dialogue process, the Pakistani statement said. The dialogue meeting is expected in June.

“Pakistan attaches importance to the continuation of the composite dialogue process and looks forward to an early scheduling of the foreign secretary-level talks, as well as talks on nuclear confidence-building measures,” the statement said.

Pakistan signaled in a separate statement Saturday that President Gen. Pervez Musharraf is ready to quickly begin dialogue with the new government, especially on the dispute over Kashmir, the divided territory at the heart of decades of tense relations.

Manmohan, an Oxford-educated economist, was sworn in Saturday. He has said he seeks “most friendly” relations with Pakistan.