Terming Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf’s recent suggestion to resolve the Kashmir issue as ‘‘very forward-thinking’’, visiting US Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage today said he was ‘‘very much interested’’ in it.‘‘I think he (Musharraf) has caused a great deal of thinking both in India and here in Pakistan about the way forward,’’ he said in an interview to state-run PTV. Armitage arrived here last night along with US Assistant Secretary Christina Rocca.Armitage was referring to the October 25 ‘‘food for thought’’ remarks made by Musharraf at an iftar dinner, in which he suggested dividing Kashmir on both sides of the LoC into seven ‘‘regions’’, demilitarising these and granting them the status of independence or putting them under joint control or UN mandate.Later, an official statement said that Musharraf had emphasised the need for ‘‘tangible progress’’ in the Indo-Pak dialogue during his meeting with Armitage. ‘‘It was my hope that a debate on options on Kashmir would take us nearer to a solution,’’ it quoted the General as saying. The statement, however, made no mention of the October 25 options suggested by Musharraf in this regard.After the October 25 dinner, Pakistan Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz and Foreign Minister Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri had also clarified that Musharraf’s suggestion was not a proposal and referred to a ‘‘hypothetical situation’’.In the PTV interview, Armitage backed involving Kashmiri leaders in the talks. ‘‘Kashmiris have to be able to speak their minds, and they should be heard and be listened to,’’ he said.Talking about US-Pak ties, Armitage said the two countries had travelled to new lengths since 9/11 and that relations would be further accelerated during US President George W Bush’s second term in office. ‘‘Key for success here is that we establish a relationship with Pakistan,’’ he said, adding that the thrust would be on political and economic ties.‘‘The changes we see are changes of acceleration,’’ the Deputy Secretary of State said. ‘‘We want to have relations with Pakistan that are political and economic.We need to get some foreign direct investment in here. We certainly want to continue our excellent cooperation with the military and want to develop cultural exchange with Pakistan.’’He also hailed Pakistan for cooperating in conducting the recent elections in Afghanistan. Asked about the ongoing military operation in Falluja, Iraq, Armitage insisted it was largely carried out by over 3,000 Iraqi soldiers, assisted by US troops. — PTI
