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Musharraf upbeat about Indo-Pak ties

Heads off to London for talks with Blair

AGENCIES, Washington
Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf said Saturday talks with nuclear rival India to resolve their thorny Kashmir dispute were ’’moving well” and that he was "very optimistic of the future" of bilateral ties.
Speaking to reporters after talks with US President George W. Bush, Musharraf said he hoped that the two neighbours would "move forward" in resolution of all disputes.
"We are moving well on the issue of confidence building measures. And also the dialogue process towards resolution of disputes," said the Pakistani leader, who flew in here Friday from a tour of three Latin American states. He is due in London to hold talks with British Prime •Minister Tony Blair. The leaders are set to discuss bilateral relations and the situation in the disputed territory of Kashmir.
"We hope that we will move forward in all resolution of all disputes and the dispute happens to be Kashmir, therefore moving forward on that. I’m very optimistic of the future,’’he said.
India maintains that Kashmir is just one of many points of dispute between the archrivals and has said all issues should be addressed simultaneously, while Pakistan insists Kashmir remains the core issue.
India and Pakistan both hold Kashmir in part but claim it in its entirety. The Himalayan region has been the cause of two of the three wars they have fought since independence from Britain in 1947.
Bush said Musharraf "has showed great courage" in building India-Pakistan tics, "leading toward what we hope will be a peaceful solution of what has been a historically difficult problem."
Briefing reporters on condition
he not be named, a senior US administration official said after the 45-minute meeting that the Pakistani leader had pledged to be "flexible" in dialogue with New Delhi.
Bush also emphasised Middle East peace in a meeting with Pakistan's president and praised his ally's efforts in the war on terrorism and the search for Osama bin Laden.
One of the most sensitive issues between the two countries is the unsuccessful three-year hunt along the Afghan-Pakistan border for the al-Qaeda chief blamed in the Sept 11 attacks on America.
"The president has been a determined leader to bring to justice not only people like Osama bin Laden, but to bring to justice those who would inflict harm and pain on his own people,” Bush said after their meeting in the Oval Office.
Musharraf, who has survived
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several assassination attempts, faces pressure In his own mostly Muslim country from Islamic militant groups that disapprove of his close ties with Washington.
The two allies in the war on terrorism emerged from their hourlong meeting highlighting the Israeli-Palestinian dispute as an obstacle to world peace.
"I assured President Musharraf that there is an opportunity at hand to work toward the development of a Palestinian state and peace in the Middle East" Bush said. "I told him this will be a priority of my administration. The goal is two states living side by side -
Outside the White House, Musharraf, who said he came to the White House to congratulate Bush on his re-election, praised the US president's commitment to establishing a Palestinian state.
"I think the president himself said that; that this is the core issue," Musharraf said.
US Secretary of State Colin Powell told reporters after a separate meeting with Musharraf that despite strongly-held views by New Delhi and Islamabad, they were "trying to find a way to move forward."
"They’re talking to one another, and that's good compared to where we were two years ago," he said, point-
ing to an upcoming meeting of their foreign ministers and possible talks between Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Musharraf early next year on the fringes of a regional conference.
Musharraf had suggested recently that Kashmir be divided into seven regions -- any one of which could be demilitarised and either placed under United Nations mandate, joint control or given independence.
But Indian leader Singh had promptly rejected the proposals, saying any redrawing of boundaries was unacceptable.
The next round of India-Pakistan talks on Kashmir will be held after Christmas.
They have been engaged in a peace dialogue since January, with officials and politicians discussing various major sticking points. The first round of the talks was completed in September.
The December 27-28 meeting will look at overall progress on key Issues such as confidence-building measures between the two countries, and Kashmir.
In April last year then-Indian prime minister Atal Behari Vajpayee started the current peace process by offering a "hand of friendship" to Pakistan.
(AFR Reuters)