Thaw a good omen, says Musharraf

Pakistan’s President Pervez Musharraf on Thursday described a thaw in relations with India as a good omen and said he hoped issues that...

Pakistan’s President Pervez Musharraf on Thursday described a thaw in relations with India as a good omen and said he hoped issues that divide the two countries could be resolved as soon as possible.

‘‘This is a good omen, it’s a good beginning,’’ Musharraf told the London-based Pakistani satellite channel ARY, referring to Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali’s telephone conversation with Atal Behari Vajpayee.

Musharraf said there was no road map for the resolution of the Kashmir issue, but things could improve with an approach based on phases. ‘‘It’s not a time-based road map. It’s a road-map of negotiations,’’ he said.

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‘‘First of all, we start talking. After the talks, we should mutually accept that we have to resolve all issues including Kashmir, and Kashmir is the core issue.’’ He said the third step was to rule out all ‘‘solutions’’ unacceptable to Pakistan, India and Kashmiris.

‘‘Finally a fourth stage will come in which whatever solutions are left, we agree on them mutually — Pakistan, India and Kashmir,’’ he added.

The conversation in which Jamali invited Vajpayee to Islamabad came ahead of a visit to the region by US Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage who analysts see as a key driver of the move by the two countries to make a fresh start.

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