'Pak to hail Indo-Afghan pact if it promotes peace'

Pakistan's Interior Minister Rehman Malik has said that Islamabad has no objection to a pact between India and Afghanistan, if it promotes peace.

Addressing several issues critical to the relationship between India and Pakistan on the sidelines of trilateral talks with Afghanistan and Turkey in Istanbul, Malik said that Pakistan had no objections to a pact between India and Afghanistan, provided such a pact did not jeopardise the interest of the region.

"If there is any pact between Pakistan and Afghanistan, or Afghanistan and India, as long as it promotes peace, as long as it brings prosperity to the people, as long as there is no negativity in the agreements and if it suits the integrity, sovereignty and the peace of this region, we welcome all such pacts," he added.

He further said relations with India had improved in recent times, and cited initiatives taken by him and his Indian counterpart P Chidambaram to break the ice between the two countries.

Talking about the delay in the trial proceedings of the 2008 Mumbai attack on India by alleged Pakistani militants, Malik said that there was no delay on Pakistan's part.

"It's not a delay on our part. There are certain legal complications, and the delay is not at all from Pakistan's side. You know that the judicial commission was to be constituted. That has now been constituted, and the concerned Pakistani court has already asked us to find out from India as to which judicial focal point will be there in India," he said.

He said that once India clarified its focal point on the case, proceedings would speed up.

Malik also said that the list of fugitives wanted in India who were alleged to be hiding in Pakistan was an Interpol list, not India's.

"Well, the fugitive list is not from India, it is from the Interpol, and what you presume sometimes, what you see, it may not be there. But I assure you, any fugitive who is desired by India, if we get hold of him or her, we will always hand over to India. But what is important (is) that sometimes perceptions are far off from realities. Let's go by the realities, not by the perceptions," he said.

Commenting on former cricketer and politician Imran Khan's statement about human rights violations by the army in Kashmir, Malik said if there are rights issues in Kashmir, then people will talk about it.

"Imran Khan is a cricketer. Whatever he has said, he has said it in his personal capacity. The fact remains that, wherever there is aggression of the army, irrespective of whether it is in India, or East Timor, or in Ireland or anywhere, whenever there is some kind of human rights violation, people do talk about it," he said.

Reiterating Pakistan's stand that Kashmir was the core issue in all negotiations between the two countries, he said that the issue could be resolved by the collective will of India, Pakistan and the people of Kashmir.

He also said that he would consider the case of Sarabjit Singh, an Indian citizen on death row in Pakistan for his alleged involvement in militant attacks, saying that he had authorised the release of prisoners in the past and would give the matter serious consideration.

Malik also said that India and Pakistan needed to create conditions where movement on both sides of the border is not be hampered by niggles like visa issues.