Islamabad, June 15: Day after New Delhi advocated a ‘creative solution’ for the Kashmir issue, Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on Tuesday welcomed India’s willingness to resume dialogue saying that said Islamabad wanted to resolve the Kashmir and other outstanding issues with India through talks.
Speaking at the National Defence University in Islamabad, Gilani said Pakistan wants peace in the region and strives for resolving all issues with India through dialogue. He said the Indian leadership’s willingness to resume dialogue is a step in the right direction.
“Pakistan is a peaceful nation. We are against territorial aggrandizement and seek negotiated and peaceful resolution of all disputes with India. The Indian leaderships’ willingness to resume stalled dialogue is a step in the right direction for regional peace and progress,” Gilani said.
Speaking at a seminar in Delhi Sunday, India’s foreign secretary Nirupama Rao advocated “creative solutions” on Jammu and Kashmir and other issues to build on the progress made earlier through the Composite Dialogue and back channel diplomacy.
Outlining India’s approach to future engagement with Pakistan, Rao, who will travel to Islamabad for talks with her counterpart Salman Bashir on June 25, listed the progress made on Jammu and Kashmir “based on the common understanding that boundaries could not be redrawn” but should be made irrelevant.
Gilani today said the foreign policy of the government of Pakistan was guided by the protection of Pakistan’s interests both at regional and international levels and a democratic Pakistan was playing its due role in the global affairs at all multilateral forums.
He said that Pakistan did not need certificate from anybody in US or UK about the ongoing war on terrorism.

Lastupdate on : Tue, 15 Jun 2010 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Tue, 15 Jun 2010 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Wed, 16 Jun 2010 00:00:00 IST