Pakistan urges South Asian countries to solve disputes

ISLAMABAD, July 23 (Xinhua) -- Pakistan said on Thursday that it is high time for the South Asian countries to resolve their disputes and lay solid foundation for inter-state relations based on mutual interests, respect and trust.

Briefing newsmen here Foreign Office spokesman Abdul Basit saidthat the countries of the region have not been able to evolve a sustainable cooperative framework. It was because of disputes in the region continues to be driven by poverty, disease and hunger, Basit said.

"Pakistan attaches great importance to the principles of sovereign equality, non-aggression, non-interference and peaceful co-existence in the region," he said.

The spokesman said Pakistan and India were in discussion as to when and where Foreign Secretaries of the two countries are to meet as decided at the Sharam El-Sheikh summit between Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani and his Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh.

He said the two Foreign Secretaries would submit report to the Foreign Ministers who would be meeting in September in New York on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly session.

The spokesman hoped that meeting of the Foreign Secretaries would define the time line for resumption of composite dialogue, which would hopefully be endorsed by the Foreign Ministers.

Commenting on the reports about handing over dossier to India at Sharam El-Sheikh about Indian interference in Balochistan, the spokesman said every thing is in contained in the joint statement issued following the meetings of the two prime ministers.

He said he would not discuss in public the issues involving intelligence matters and did not elaborate the news reports of giving dossier to India, adding that every thing discussed between the two leaders was included in the joint statement.

Commenting on the meeting between Foreign Minister Shah MahmoodQureshi with his American counterpart Hillary Clinton Thursday, the spokesman said he briefed her about Pakistan-India engagement in Sharam El-Sheikh and how this process should be taken forward.

The spokesman said that the foreign minister also briefed Hilary Clinton about progress made in the context of investigations into Mumbai attacks.