Dear Friends:
As always Pakistan is obsessed with Kashmir. Here's from today's (18 03 2012) Times of India another outburst. -bhuban 71 ISLAMABAD: Backing moves to open up Indo-Pak trade, Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardaritoday said the two countries must also address"difficult issues" like the Kashmir dispute. Making history by becoming the first elected President to deliver a fifth address to a joint session of Parliament of a country that has been under military boots for most of its existence, Zardari faced a hostile House with the opposition booing and jeering to drown most of his epic address. Amidst a din, Zardari told lawmakers that "important steps have been taken to open up trade between India and Pakistan". "But we must also address difficult issues, including that of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute," he said in a speech that outlined his government's policies, including foreign policy priorities, for the final year of its five-year term. In recent months, India and Pakistan have taken several steps to boost bilateral trade. The Pakistan government recently decided to switch over to a negative list regime for bilateral trade, paving the way for giving India Most Favoured Nation-status by the beginning of next year. The two countries have also agreed to increase trade to six billion dollars by 2014. Clad in a dark suit and standing beside a photo of his slain wife, former premier Benazir Bhutto, Zardari said that Islamabad was seeking a meaningful engagement with US and was awaiting parliament's nod. "We seek to engage meaningfully with the US on the basis of mutual interest and mutual respect. "We are looking forward to (parliament's) recommendations for re-engaging with the United States," he said _______________________________________________ assam mailing list [email protected] http://assamnet.org/mailman/listinfo/assam_assamnet.org
