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Besides,
Singh said that some of the bilateral issues such as
Balighar dam, Siachen, and Sir Creek can be solved
quickly and that confidence can then be employed to
bring understanding and trust Kashmir. He said all
that was stopping the countries to reach agreement on
these issues was "animosities and misgivings of
the past." He insisted that a "strong,
stable, prosperous, and 'moderate' Pakistan was in the
interest of both India and South Asia." He also
committed India to the "prosperity, unity,
development, and well-being of Pakistan."
Complimenting
Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf on his "bold
steps to curb extremism," he said, "More
needs to be done in the interest of both India and
Pakistan." He called on Pakistan to "take a
long view of history and our destiny" and
"accept ground realities" to "think the
unthinkable of moving forward."
Pakistan
Foreign Minister Khurshid Mahmood Kasuri quickly
responded appreciating Singh's "positive"
remarks. However, Commerce Secretary Syed Asif Shah
but in the same breadth said that it was not ready to
grant India most-favored nation (MFN) status in its
economic dealings and insisted that that MFN and
opening other borders was dependent on progress on
Kashmir. Essentially, this was a reiteration of their
stated position. Only last week, Pakistan tried to
wiggle out of its commitment to combat terrorism by
asserting that India's most wanted, Dawood Ibrahim,
was not living there when most intelligence agencies
have confirmed Indian contention that he does live
there.
Pakistan
wants to solve the Kashmir issue first before
normalization of relations while India wants to take
smaller steps and solve easier issues to build trust
and relationship to solve Kashmir. The Kashmir
quagmire has serious legal and Constitutional import
in India because of its accession to India, Parliament
resolutions, and demographics of that State. Pakistan
however has sought to divide Pakistan Occupied Kashmir
and Northern Areas as distinct areas even refusing
judicial verdict on their status. Moreover,
it has illegally ceded areas known as Akasi Chin to
China and hence there is an added dimension to the
issue.
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