Pak denies deadline on Kashmir

ISLAMABAD: Hours before President Pervez Musharraf’s blunt- talking at a gathering of intellectuals about the peace process with India was aired by state-owned PTV, Pakistan foreign ministry on Wednesday night refuted reports that he has set a deadline for the bilateral composite dialogue to solve the Kashmir issue.
Foreign office spokesman Masood Khan said the remarks attributed in the local media to Musharraf setting a July-August deadline for the India-Pak composite dialogue to work out solution to Kashmir issue, failing which the peace process would be derailed was not correct.
The reports stated Musharraf, in his special interactive programme for PTV’s News Night programme recorded on Tuesday, gave a deadline of July-August this year for the composite dialogue process with India to succeed, especially on the Jammu and Kashmir issue.
Otherwise the peace process could get derailed, he was quoted by the media having said. Masood Khan told PTV on Wednesday ‘‘the interpretation of the president’s remarks is not correct.
The president did not use the word ‘deadline’ at all,� he said. Earlier, Musharraf was reported to have said he wanted to see progress on Kashmir by July or August, when foreign ministers of the two countries are due to meet to review the talks.
“The foreign ministers will meet in July-August... If we don’t move forward, I am not in the process,� he said.