Better Indo-Pak ties not at cost of security: Gujral

MARATHON MAN'S NEIGHBOURS: Prime Minister I K Gujral begins his morning walk along in Maharani Bagh on Wednesday but is soon accompanied by...

MARATHON MAN’S NEIGHBOURS: Prime Minister I K Gujral begins his morning walk along in Maharani Bagh on Wednesday but is soon accompanied by his neighbours.

NEW DELHI, May 8: Prime Minister Inder Kumar Gujral today said that India was keen to improve relations with Pakistan but would never compromise on its security and integrity.

Intervening during question hour in the Rajya Sabha, Gujral said improving relations with Pakistan was not an event. It was a process which had only been accelerated.

Gujral said that the issue was discussed with the Pakistan Foreign Minister in New Delhi recently. He would be meeting Nawaz Sharif, his Pakistani counterpart, at Male during the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) meet next week.

Gujral informed Vijay Kumar Malhotra of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) that the Government was aware of the Pakistani propaganda on Kashmir at various international fora but ignored it “with the contempt it deserves”.He said the Government was maintaining vigil on the activities of ISI agents in the country. He told O P Kohli that treating the Line of Control as a permanent border between India and Pakistan was not a solution to the Kashmir problem.