Pakistan seeks to delink Kashmir from trade talks

TOWARDS SAFTA

Pakistan would pursue free trade with India through the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc) process without compromising its stance on Kashmir, Pakistan Foreign Secretary Riaz Khokhar said yesterday.

"You must make a distinction between free trade in a regional context and free trade in a bilateral context. In principle, we stand for free trade," Khokhar told a press conference here, when asked whether Pakistan was ready to abandon its previous policy of linking trade with India to progress on the resolution of the Kashmir issue.

"Until we come to a final agreement, I cannot say how the South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA) will be implemented," Khokhar said.

Regarding Pakistan's policy on Kashmir, he said, "It has been clearly enunciated by President Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Zafarullah Khan Jamali. We do not see any change in our position on Kashmir."

Asked whether Pakistan has decided not to raise the Kashmir issue during the forthcoming Saarc summit, Khokhar said he could not recall when Islamabad had raised the Kashmir issue at previous Saarc summits.

To a question whether Kashmir would figure in Jamali's speech at the summit, he said, "The speech is still being drafted. Let's see whether we can accommodate your request."

South Asian leaders are to meet here next week in a summit that raises hopes for cooperation in one of the world's most populous and poorest regions, marred by persisting tensions between India and Pakistan.

The summit, to be held under unprecedented security in Islamabad following the Christmas Day assassination attempt on President Pervez Musharraf, will discuss a report on poverty alleviation in the region, according to Khokhar.

"A more ambitious undertaking of creating a South Asia Free Trade Area will also come up for discussion at the January 4-6 meeting," he said.

Agreements on suppressing terrorism, narcotics, trafficking in women and children for prostitution would be on the agenda at the 12th Saarc summit, he said.

Founded in 1985 to foster good neighbourly relations and economic cooperation in the region, Saarc never realised its objectives because of hostilities between India and Pakistan.

In its 18-year history the organisation had seen "many ups and downs," Khokhar said, adding that "frequent postponements" of the summits hampered Saarc's progress.

Khokhar said the main area surrounding two five-star hotels, conference venue, presidential palace and prime minister's office would be sealed well in advance and nobody would be allowed to move there.

He said the summit process would begin as scheduled from December 29 with a two-day meeting of the programming committee of the Saarc countries.