Ahead of his meeting with Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has observed that they share a "unique" background.
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The prime minister was responding to a question on what he wanted Musharraf to know about him and his feelings about Kashmir and what he was prepared to do.
On dangers of an Indo-Pak nuclear conflict, Singh said his honest assessment is that both countries are responsible countries and "the outside world probably exaggerates the chances of our two countries going to war."
Contending that problems between India and Pakistan are "extremely complicated," Singh said it will be wrong on his part to say that "we can resolve all these issues overnight."
"But we have lived through times where what was simply unacceptable in international relations became the norm. Who could imagine some 20 years ago that the Berlin Wall would melt, that the Cold War would be a thing of the past? But these things have happened," he said.
Singh, however, noted that the infrastructure of terrorism in Pakistan "by and large still remains intact. And that's a cause for worry."
Asked how India and Pakistan are building confidence with each other, Singh said the two sides have been discussing matters relating to use of nuclear weapons so that there was no accident and no mis-understanding about each other's intentions. "I hope progress will be made."
Citing the revolution in South Africa, he said: "I think, given goodwill, given determination, how severe or difficult the present may seem, I do believe sincerely that the way can be found to resolve all outstanding problems."
On reports that Pakistani military is not supporting the Kashmiri militants as much as they were in the past, the prime minister noted that in January this year, Musharraf and the then prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee had come to an agreement to restart the composite dialogue between the two countries covering all outstanding issues, including Jammu and Kashmir.
But Dr Singh reminded that the starting point of this was the "unambiguous" commitment of Musharraf that the territory under Pakistan's control would not be allowed to be used for terrorist activities in any other state. "The flow of infiltration across the border has diminished from November to May. But in June and July, there was again an increase. In August, there is again, I think, some improvement. But the infrastructure of terrorists by and large still remains intact. And that's a cause for worry."
Asked what's the solution that will be politically feasible for India and Pakistan, Dr Singh said: "Well, I think the first step is to recognise that terrorism as a weapon to resolve political issues is simply unacceptable in a civilised world.
"Once the machinery of terror is dismantled, we as a nation are committed to discussing with Pakistan all outstanding issues, including that of J&K."
On what Pakistan wanted from India, Dr Singh said: "Well, I think thus far Pakistan was saying that the core issue is the
issue of J&K. We have been saying that J&K is a symptom of a wider malaise. That is a complicated matter. It has persisted for the last 55 years. The two countries had three wars on J&K."
