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Arafat offers to negotiate between India, Pak

Palestine President Yasser Arafat on Friday offered to mediate between India and Pakistan on the Kashmir issue.

''I am ready, if the two sides accept,'' Arafat said in New Delhi.

The president, who is on a three-day state visit, recalled he had played a major role in bringing former Indian prime minister Indira Gandhi and her counterpart Zulfikar Ali Bhutto to the negotiating table in 1972, which ultimately led to the Simla agreement.

''We arrived at a very important compromise that India and Pakistan should resolve their differences through negotiations and talks,'' he said.

Arafat, however, did not give a straight reply when asked if the Kashmir issue should be resolved in accordance with the Simla agreement or the United Nations resolutions.

He said India had a moral, political and international responsibility to resolve the West Asia crisis.

''Our relations with India are very good and we are proud of it. We can't forget the continued support given to Palestine by India since the time of Mahatma Gandhi," Arafat said.

He charged Israel Prime Minister Binyamin Netahanyu with violating all international norms and scuttling the West Asia peace process. The international community, the president continued, must apply pressure on Israel to comply with the UN resolutions.

The Non-Aligned Movement should also take effective steps against that country, he said.

Arafat expressed concern over the situation in Iraq, where, he said, women and children were suffering because of the UN embargo.

Asked if Iraqi President Saddam Hussein could be held guilty for this, he shot back: ''What about Netahanyu?''

UNI

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