Pakistan Thursday appealed to Norway to facilitate the resolution of disputes with India but the Scandinavian country said it is willing to mediate only if both countries sought its help.
President Pervez Musharraf raised the matter during his meeting with Norwegian Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Store in Islamabad, asking the international community, including Norway, to facilitate the resolution of disputes with India.
Store, who will travel to India next, said Norway had in the past expressed its wish to mediate between India and Pakistan and was willing to do so if both sides wanted it. The Norwegian government is currently engaged in efforts to keep peace talks going between the Sri Lankan government and the LTTE.
Given Norway's keen interest in the peaceful settlement of conflicts, views were also exchanged by Store and Musharraf on regional issues of mutual concern.
Musharraf praised Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's sincerity in resolving bilateral issues and hoped Pakistan's proposals would bring about progress in resolving the Kashmir issue. The Pakistani leader hoped there would be progress on the Kashmir issue in light of his proposals and that the problems of Siachen and Sir Creek could be "resolved expeditiously with courage", the official release said.
On Afghanistan, where Norwegian soldiers are part of NATO forces, Musharraf outlined Pakistan's policy objectives in tribal areas bordering that country and its contribution to the fight against Al Qaeda and its approach to dealing with radicalism and the extremist Taliban.