On whether a date has been set for the meeting:
Not a precise one, but generally the meeting is likely to take placein the first part of July.
On hopes for a breakthrough:
Determination of directions. I don't think in the matter of two daysthe two leaders will enter into a substantive discussion and arrive at afinal settlement. We will be very content and I'm sure the people ofPakistan will, if the two leaders have a meeting of minds with regard tothe destination and the directions and the modalitites of reaching thatdestination. We hope that both leaders will recognise the reasonsand thecauses that have kept us apart, that have made us from near to distantneighbours and that they will address the root cause of the tensions thathave existed and that root cause has been identified in the correspondencethat has been exchanged between General Pervez Musharraf and PrimeMinister Atal Behari Vajpayee. And we hope that they will approachthatquestion in a constructive and positive spirit.
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On Pakistan's suggested course of action:
I don't know what General Pervez Musharraf is going to say and how heis going to start. As foreign minister and as a person who has beeninvolved in Pakistan-India relations for one third of my diplomaticcareer, was twice ambassador to India, my cherished hope is that theleaders will turn the direction.
On being flexible:
We are going to be going there with a positive spirit, because if wedon't have a positive spirit we shouldn't go there. What we arehoping isthat the difficulties in the relations will be identified and you have asituation where the All Party Hurriyat Conference says that 75-thousandKashmiris have died in the last 12 years.
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On the urgency to stop the killings:
To stop the killings, and try to find a solution that will satisfy theKashmiri people. That is why we have suggested that there should beconsultations with the representatives of the Kashmiri people. I amquiteclear in my mind that people who have sacrificed 75-thousand of theirbrothers and sisters, they will insist on a solution that is satisfactoryfrom their viewpoint. They have their future and they have theirgenerations to come.
On whether Pakistan will talk to the militants and ask them to stop:
No, what we hope the two leaders will discuss is how do we approach asolution that is acceptable to the Kashmiri people. I think that isthequestion to address, because if we start talking about militancy andterrorism and secessionism, etc, we will reach nowhere, because the factis that a movement that started as a peaceful movement in 1989 was drivenunderground. These people were openly demonstrating and then thearmedforces and the police were let loose and these people were forced intounderground channels.
(From Part 2 of interview transmitted on Thursday 14th June)
On the Pakistani crisis:
I think there is a recognition by the UK as there is by the IMF thatPakistan is emerging from the crisis which it was in 1999.
On Jack Straw asking Pakistan to disown Taleban:
He expressed concerns about the policies of Taleban. I told him we haveour concerns also. But, our view is that in order to nudge the government ofAfghanistan in the direction that will serve the interests of the Afghanpeople the world community should engage them. By not engaging them, bypainting them into a corner, you are not taking advantage of the influenceyou may be able to exercise on them. We have relations with the Taleban. Wetried with the statues of Bamiyan. We did all we could. General Musharrafsent messages, General Musharraf sent a Minister to talk to the leaders ofthe Taleban government. But the Taleban government made a decision theythought was in the best interests of their country.
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On whether Jack Straw also talked about urging a return to democracy in 2years:
No, he didn't say within two years. But he said the sooner the better. Weare committed to the implementation of the judgement of the Supreme Court ofPakistan. The Supreme Court has given to this government a period of threeyears for the fulfillment of an agenda of reform and rectification. We areaddressing this and we are very glad to note that the world community haswatched with a degree of approval that Pakistan is emerging from thedifficulties that has confronted it. Mr Straw also appreciates that. Thereis a problem that the Commonwealth Declaration of Harere restricts a periodfor an extra constitutional government to two years. This is the mismatch.Two years versus three years. We hope that the Commonwealth will showtolerance. Because, we have an agenda to address and we want to fulfill thatagenda so that we will have a democracy that is sustainable that will reston strong foundations, and the recurrent breakdowns that Pakistan witnessedbetween 1990 and 99.... This is our hope.
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On whether Straw also urged Pakistan to sign CTBT:
No he didn't raise this subject. But the government of Pakistan is quiteclear that the Test Ban Treaty is a good treaty and that we should take partin securing the entry into force of that treaty.. which means not only signbut the ratification by 44 states. And Paksitan is not alone in not signingand not ratifying. So we have time to go.
On Bush's alleged India-tilt:We hope that the government of the US will have relations with India andPakistan. The US has shown great maturity since October 1999. The USrealized that democracy in Pakistan had become dysfunctional and thatPakistan needed to undertake some reforms. President Clinton came .. I hadtwo meetings with the Secretary of State, I don't have a feeling thatPakistan is being ignored or sidelined
