Britain will not interfere over Kashmir, Blair assures Gujral

The controversy over Britain mediating over the Kashmir issue has blown over with British Prime Minister Tony Blair unmistakably stating that his government had no intention of poking its head in the affair.

"The matter should be resolved by India and Pakistan," he said.

Blair's view came through Prime Minister I K Gujral who, at a reception hosted by Commonwealth Secretary-General Chief Emeka Anyaoku in Edinburgh, said the British PM had told him so in a 30-minute meeting.

Gujral is in Britain to attend the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting. The Indian leader termed his discussions with Blair as 'warm and cordial'.

Foreign Secretary K Raghunath said the Indian government was not concerned with British Foreign Secretary Robin Cook's reported remarks (made during Queen Elizabeth II's visit to Islamabad) earlier this month (about Kashmir).

"Blair's assurance that the Kashmir issue must be resolved through bilateral negotiations between India and Pakistan is the enunciation of the British policy over Kashmir," he said.

Before Gujral left New Delhi, Blair had spoken to him on telephone expressing his keen desire to repair the damage done to Indo-British relations, Raghunath said. Neither Cook nor Raghunath were present at the meeting.

Indo-British relations, Raghunath continued, were 'very good'. These were reflected in people-to-people contact and co-operation in science and technology.

He said the CHOGM theme -- trade, investment and development -- came up for discussion between the two leaders. It was agreed that the requirements of developing countries should be taken into account while dealing with these issues.

Raghunath said the reform process in India also came up in the talks. Finance Minister P Chidambaram made it clear that reform and liberalisation would continue with the same momentum and emphasis. He stressed that multilateral negotiations in World Trade Organisation should proceed on rational lines, giving due respect to the views of developing countries.

UNI

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