'Kashmir Should Not Be The Key To Improving Ties'

Union Minister Omar Abdullah today said that with anopen market economy bringing about regional co-operation the world over,Pakistan should not continue harping on the Kashmir issue as the key toimproving its relations with India.

"Kashmir could be one of the issues identified forsolution to promoting good relations between the two countries but it should notbe taken as a barometer for measuring the air of goodwill between the twocountries," Abdullah said in New Delhi today.

Stating that in today's world open market economy wasone of the major factors in uniting countries, the 31-year-old Minister of Statefor Commerce and Industries said one should see the history of Europe which hadmore or less integrated due to economic compulsions and European countries hadmore or less given a go-by to traditional differences to work out a newrelationship of co-operation.

Defending the Government's stand of not allowing theHurriyat leaders to meet the Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf during hisvisit to this country, he said "We want to make it clear that we will notallow an interventionist attitude in the forthcoming summit. Besides this, canMusharraf afford to meet the leaders even before meeting Prime Minister Atal BehariVajpayee"? he asked.

Referring to the demand of some separatist groups inPakistan-occupied-Kashmir (PoK) asking Musharraf to make Kashmir as the coreissue during his talks with Vajpayee, he said "It is needless to say orremind him (Musharraf) about the unanimous resolution of the Parliament in 1994on regaining back the areas of the State under occupation."

PTI