MADINAH, 29 June 2006 — Pakistan’s Information Minister Mohammad Ali Durrani has said that Islamabad wants peace with India because progress and development in the region hinges on a durable peace.

Speaking to Arab News on Tuesday night in Madinah, Durrani commented that the peace process launched by the two countries had made substantial headway and that the people of both India and Pakistan were longing for peace. Durrani had come to Saudi Arabia after having attended a media conference in Yemen.

Regarding India’s often-repeated charges that Pakistan has not been doing enough to block the movement of militants across the border, the minister said India has erected fences on some part of the border and deployed a large number of troops and therefore such allegations were baseless.

He said Indians and Pakistanis want peace and that their interactions have increased. “I think it will be difficult for any Indian government now to backtrack on the peace process,” he added.

Pakistan has always sought peace and taken positive steps but the moves have been regarded as signs of weakness by India. It is time India realized the need for peace because it alone can alleviate the sufferings of the people of the two countries and bring progress and prosperity, Durrani said. “Kashmir is the core issue that needs to be resolved,” he added

On President Pervez Musharraf’s re-election as president of Pakistan, Durrani said Gen. Musharraf has indicated time and again that he will abide by the constitutional requirements while seeking another term as president. The president will ensure that the constitutional requirements are met if he seeks re-election.

Speaking about Pak-Afghan relations the minister said Islamabad wants good relations with Kabul because that would be in the interest of the two countries and their people.

The people of Afghanistan and those living in the northern region of Pakistan have similar culture and traditions and hence it is very important that there is peace. Referring to reports that India was in some way instrumental in fomenting anti-Pakistani trouble in Afghanistan, Durrani said it is unwise on India’s part to do such things.

About Pakistan’s relationship with Saudi Arabia, the minister said the two countries enjoy excellent relations. Custodian of the two Holy Mosques King Abdullah’s visit to Pakistan earlier this year cemented the existing brotherly ties between the two countries.

Durrani said moves were under way to promote cooperation between the media of the two countries.

On the alliance between former prime ministers Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif, the minister said that the two parties were archrivals and that the two leaders were sworn enemies. “Now they are trying in vain to oppose the government,” he said.

He added that these parties demand elections in the country. Elections should also be held within the parties to ensure their leaders truly represent the parties they come from.

Durrani also mentioned that trouble in the northern region and Balochistan had subsided.