Pakistan Views

The British Foreign Office Minister has said that his country is greatly encouraged by the bilateral dialogues between Pakistan and India and expressed hope that these would eventually lead to a lasting solution on Kashmir.Dr.Kim Howells said this in response to a question raised by Paul Rowen, Liberal Democrat MP for the northern English town constituency of Rochdale, which has significant Kashmiri population during Parliamentary question time.The question put to the Minister was that he will be aware that India has gone to war with Pakistan over Kashmir three times since independence, and that both India and Pakistan are nuclear states. What discussions have he or other Ministers had about a way forward for Kashmir? Dr. Howells in reply said back in 2002, those two nuclear states were facing each other in what was probably the most dangerous confrontation anywhere on Earth. I am sure that he will agree with me that we should be greatly encouraged by the fact that India and Pakistan are dealing with the matter themselves.The Minister it was now up to the new Pakistani Government takes up the mantle and ensures that the peace that is thankfully now being experienced in Kashmir becomes permanent.” It will be interesting to see how quickly the new government acts.”