Dispelling that the fresh peace overtures by India and Pakistan were the result of 'some outside pressure', President Pervez Musharraf has said the Kashmir issue could be resolved only through 'meaningful dialogue'.
He denied that there was any roadmap to resolve the Kashmir issue as reported in a section of the media.
The US also denied that it had set any deadline to resolve the issue and described the report quoting American administrator in Iraq General J Garner in this regard as 'total fabrication and absolutely not true'.
"We were consistently saying that we want talks, but it was India that was showing rigidity," he said in an interview to a London-based Urdu TV channel ARV Gold.
"Now it appears that some change has come from their side," he said in the interview also carried by state-run APP news agency.
Replying
to questions on the peace initiative by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and his Pakistani counterpart Zafarullah Khan Jamali, Musharraf said he believed there was a growing realisation among the Indian leadership that the Kashmir issue could be resolved only through 'meaningful dialogue'.
About Vajpayee-Khan telephonic conversation, Musharraf said, "This is a very good sign. I think it is a new beginning after the Agra Summit."
Brushing aside the impression that the present initiative was the result of some outside pressure, Musharraf said that no one can build pressure from outside but there may be some suggestions.
Denying that there was any roadmap for the resolution of Kashmir issue, Musharraf said things could improve with an approach based on phases. "It's not a time based roadmap. It's a roadmap based on negotiations," he said