US EDITION
COLUMNISTS
DIARY
SPECIALS
INTERVIEWS
CAPITAL BUZZ
REDIFF POLL
DEAR REDIFF
THE STATES
YEH HAI INDIA!
ELECTIONS
ARCHIVES

Search Rediff

Pak to appeal to the Mujahideen to vacate

Pakistan has agreed to make an appeal to the Mujahideen to stop fighting in Kargil and vacate their positions in that hilly region after having achieved their objective of drawing international focus on the Kashmir dispute, Pakistani foreign office spokesman Tariq Altaf has said.

Talking to Pakistani journalists after a three-hour meeting between President Clinton and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharief, he said the fighting had involved loss of human lives on the hills and harmed the peace process. The spokesman did not share the view that their withdrawal would demoralise the militants active in other parts of the Indian Kashmir.

''Our position is that the Mujahideen against whom India has unleashed its military might, have drawn the attention of the world to their cause. The international community is now focusing on the core issue of the conflict and urging for its resolution. The international media has also highlighted the Kashmir issue,'' he added.

Altaf said Prime Minister Sharief had good discussions with President Clinton. The meeting was the result of close consultations between them in recent days. The president agreed to meet him while he was busy with the US Independence Day celebrations on Sunday which ''reflects the respect and special esteem" the 'president had for the prime minister.

The spokesman said the discussion on the Kashmir situation between the two leaders reflected identity of views. He said this was evident from the joint statement issued after the Clinton-Sharief meeting. Both agreed that the Lahore Declaration provided the frame-work for resolution of all India-Pakistan bilateral issues, including Kashmir, and reaffirmed that faith in strengthening that process. ''This is a positive development and vindicates Pakistan's position that both parties must respect the line of control and work for the final settlement of the Kashmir issue,'' he added.

Altaf said, ''The prime minister is a man of peace and is keen on the resumption of the process for peaceful resolution of all disputes between India and Pakistan, including Kashmir.'' He said the Clinton-Sharief meeting began with aides present on both sides. Foreign Minister Sartaj Aziz, Kashmir Affairs Minister Lt Gen (retd) Majid Malik, and Petroleum Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan represented the Pakistan side. President Clinton's national security advisor Sandy Berger, deputy secretary of state Strobe Talbott and assistant secretary of state of South Asia affairs Karl Inderfurth were present on behalf of the US. Later, President Clinton and Prime Minister Sharief had an hour-long one-on-one meeting.

UNI

RELATED REPORT:

Mujahideen will 'not withdraw'

The Kargil Crisis

Tell us what you think of this report