Pak hopes for resumption of peace process with India soon

Rezaul H Laskar

Islamabad, May 21 (PTI) Pakistan Thursday said it hoped
the new Indian government would resume the stalled bilateral
peace process "sooner rather than later" even as it appealed
to the world community to play a role in strengthening
"strategic stability" in South Asia.

"We hope the new government in India will return to
dialogue sooner rather than later," Foreign Office spokesman
Abdul Basit told a weekly news briefing.

Basit, who was responding to a question on Pakistan's
expectations from the new Indian government with regard to the
stalled composite dialogue process, said Islamabad wanted an
"irreversible and result-oriented dialogue" as this was
necessary for lasting peace in the region.

At the same time, he said the international community
"must play its role in augmenting strategic stability in the
region and refrain from discriminatory policies which
undermine strategic stability in South Asia and aggravate
imbalances".

He added: "The way forward lies in conflict resolution
and a peace process. We need to resolve the long-standing
Jammu and Kashmir dispute. It is also important that our two
countries adhere to the provisions of the Indus Waters Treaty
of 1960."

India suspended the composite dialogue process, which was
launched in 2004, in the wake of last year's Mumbai terror
attacks. New Delhi blamed the attacks on Pakistan-based
elements, including the Lashker-e-Taiba, and linked the
resumption of dialogue to Islamabad taking steps to bring the
perpetrators of the terrorist assault to justice.

In reply to another question about President Asif Ali
Zardari's remark that India did not pose a threat to Pakistan,
Basit said Islamabad had always believed that disputes with
New Delhi would have to be resolved for "viable peace" in the
region.

Responding to another question on the safety of
Pakistan's nuclear assets, Basit said Islamabad had maintained
a policy of credible minimum deterrence and opposed a nuclear
or conventional arms race in South Asia.

"At the same time, however, Pakistan cannot remain
oblivious to increasing conventional asymmetries, unrelenting
arms acquisitions as well as preferential treatment being
accorded to certain countries in the region," he said.

"Such developments disturb the strategic balance and
Pakistan is constrained to adopt necessary safeguards as it
deems fit."

In this regard, Basit said, the "nuclear threshold should
not be lowered" by widening the conventional asymmetry between
India and Pakistan. He claimed the conventional balance had
been affected by the supply of sophisticated weapons to India
and this had lowered the nuclear threshold. PTI