The impact of the change of guard in India on the Indo-Pak peace process is among a host of high-priority issues to be discussed by Pakistan Foreign Minister Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri with American officials during his upcoming visit to Washington.
Kasuri, who leaves for Washington Saturday, is expected to hold talks with US Secretary of State Colin Powell, National Security Advisor Condoleeza Rice and other officials on the peace initiative, the US request to send troops to Iraq to protect UN installations and the war on terrorism in Afghanistan, Foreign Office officials in Islamabad said today.
Kasuri's US tour follows US Assistant Secretary of State Christina Rocca's recent visit to Pakistan, during which she reportedly urged Islamabad to decide on US request to send troops to Iraq.
Speaking to the BBC yesterday, Kasuri said no party in India or Jammu and Kashmir opposed the dialogue process. Both the Congress and the Left Front had supported the joint statement issued by outgoing Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and President Pervez Musharraf in Islamabad in January, he said.
"I think the other parties (including the Hurriyat Conference and other parties in Jammu and Kashmir) also expressed similar views," and only small "extremist pockets" have opposed the peace moves, he said.
Pakistan Prime Minister Zafarullah Khan Jamali too expressed similar confidence.
"Prime Minister Vajpayee during his last visit to Islamabad had given assurance that he had come to Pakistan with the mandate and support of all the political parties to initiate dialogue to resolve all issues with Pakistan so that peace and security could be ensured in the region," he told journalists.
"Peace in the region is essential for the progress and prosperity of people of the region and continuation of dialogue will help ensure peace in the region," he said.