Violence and militancy were no solution to "political problems", Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari said on Monday, as he sought a "honourable, equitable and peaceful resolution" of the Kashmir issue.
During a meeting with Washington-based Kashmir Centre executive director Ghulam Nabi Fai in Islamabad, Zardari said Pakistan wants a "honourable, equitable and peaceful resolution of the Kashmir issue in line with the wishes of the Kashmiris".
He said, "Violence and militancy was no solution to political problems. No resolution of the Kashmir issue would be equitable or honourable which was not in accordance with the aspirations of the Kashmiri people."
Zardari added, "The merchants of war everywhere promoted violence as a means of settling political disputes but this had to be resisted through recourse to peaceful, indigenous political movements".
The opening of trade across the Line of Control in Kashmir would bring the Kashmiri people close together and "increase the incentives for a peaceful political resolution of the dispute", he told Fai.
Zardari appreciated the efforts of the Kashmir Centre in highlighting the Kashmir issue internationally.
Meanwhile, Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi has said the restoration of the composite dialogue with India is imperative for achieving lasting and durable peace in the region to enable Pakistan to fully focus on combating extremism and terrorism.
"Saner elements" in India understand that Pakistan's eastern borders must be made peaceful to allow the country to fully concentrate on its western borders, he told a news channel.
Pakistan and India must sit at the negotiating table and resolve bilateral issues, he said. Both countries are facing a combined problem of terrorism and should cooperate in exterminating the menace from the region, he said.
Normalisation of bilateral relations is imperative for achieving this goal, Qureshi said.
He urged India to avoid imposing any conditions for resuming the composite dialogue, pointing out that Pakistan is itself a victim of terrorism and had condemned terrorist attacks in India.
India put its peace process with Pakistan on hold in the wake of the Mumbai terror attacks, which it blamed on Pakistan-based elements, including the outlawed Lashker-e-Toiba. It has linked the resumption of the dialogue to Pakistan taking action against the perpetrators of the attacks.
