We will meet Musharraf halfway: PM

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today said he was looking forward to the visit of Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf next month and asserted that India was committed to finding a "lasting solution" to "all outstanding issues" between the two countries.

Singh told a delegation of senior political leaders from Pakistan led by former Prime Minister Shujaat Hussain that "history obliges us to seize all opportunities to pursue peace. We cannot change borders, but in a globalised world, borders should not matter."

Musharraf is slated to arrive here on April 16 and witness the last Indo-Pak one-dayer the next day. The Prime Minister, who extended an invitation to the Pakistan President, will host a lunch for him.

Singh told the Pakistan delegation that he was looking forward to the visit of Musharraf and hoped to continue the discussions he had initiated with him in New York last year, an official release said. The Prime Minister said: "India is committed to finding a lasting solution to all outstanding issues."

Singh's remarks come close on the heels of Musharraf stating that the two countries could establish close ties if the Kashmir issue was resolved. New Delhi has held that it has never shied away from discussing the Kashmir issue, which is a part of the composite dialogue process.

The Prime Minister said: "Our common enemy is poverty, ignorance and disease. We should all devote our resources to fighting poverty. Our generation has an obligation to the future."

Pointing to the Indus Water Treaty as a symbol of cooperation between the two neighbours, Singh said: "India is duty-bound to implement in letter and spirit all bilateral agreements." He hoped that technical experts from both sides could find a way out in dealing with differences on irrigation projects and water sharing.

The Pakistani visitors told Singh that there was tremendous goodwill today in Pakistan in favour of the composite dialogue and the peace process with India.

They said cricket matches, cultural and business interactions, increased people-to-people contact had created an environment in which "bold steps" could be taken by the political leadership to resolve all outstanding issues between the two countries.

Stating that there was now a "genuine turnaround in the thinking and mindset" of the people in both countries, they urged the leaders of both nations to "seize the moment" and work for lasting peace.