Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi also maintained that in the interest of peace and progress in South Asia, Indo-Pak ties will have to be normalised and that his country has proposed a "Strategic Restraint Regime" to India.
The Pakistani leader, who was delivering a lecture here on "Imperatives for Peace and prosperity in South Asia -- Pakistan's Perspective", did not elaborate on the proposal.
24 July 2008: PTI
Making a veiled reference to the Kashmir issue, Pakistan today said the international community should ensure that "right of peoples to self-determination" is not "de-legitimised" by associating it with terrorism.
Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi also maintained that in the interest of peace and progress in South Asia, Indo-Pak ties will have to be normalised and that his country has proposed a "Strategic Restraint Regime" to India.
The Pakistani leader, who was delivering a lecture here on "Imperatives for Peace and prosperity in South Asia -- Pakistan's Perspective", did not elaborate on the proposal.
Qureshi said the Kashmir issue must be resolved "keeping in view the aspirations of the Kashmiri people." He also said "the international community will have to ensure that the right of peoples to self-determination is not de-legitimised by associating it with terrorism. The two are clearly distinct and this distinction needs to be maintained through an agreed legal definition of terrorism." "Pakistan is faced with challenges mainly on two counts -- the conflict in Afghanistan and the unresolved Kashmir dispute. Resolution of these issues is an imperative for peace and economic prosperity of the region and its people." "We are working with India through a composite dialogue process to resolve all issues including Kashmir to ensure durable peace in the region. We have demonstrated an unwavering commitment to the dialogue process with India. It was due to our sustained efforts that this process was resumed in January 2004 and has contributed towards an appreciable improvement in the atmospherics between the two countries." The "improved state of relations" between Pakistan and India provides a precious opportunity for the two countries to work for resolution of the "difficult issues, in particular the unresolved Kashmir dispute," he said.
India should reciprocate the "resolve and flexibility" shown by Pakistan to resolve the Kashmir issue, Qureshi said.
At the same time, the world community can help the process to settle the issue by "encouraging all parties to stay the course and to demonstrate courage, determination and sincerity", he said in the address at the International Institute for Strategic Studies.
"We have demonstrated sufficient resolve and flexibility in order to seek a peaceful solution of (the Kashmir) problem. It is up to India to do same so that the people of South Asia can have the opportunity to live in an atmosphere of peace, stability and prosperity," said Qureshi.
Noting that Pakistan-India relations have in the past been a major impediment to progress and prosperity in South Asia, he said Pakistan favoured the "economic integration of the various sub-regions of Asia for shared prosperity for all regions and all societies".
In this regard, Pakistan had "offered an energy corridor to India" and was developing roads and infrastructure linkages to provide Central Asia the shortest access to the sea, he said.
"We would like to see regional groupings such as the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation and the Economic Cooperation Organisation, to which we belong, become effective," Qureshi said.
