PM hopes Pak would address India's concerns on infiltration

On Board PM's Special Aircraft, Oct.1 (PTI) Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh Wednesday said India has made "serious efforts"
to normalise its relations with Pakistan and hoped Islamabad
would address New Delhi's concerns about infiltration and
cease-fire violations in the near future.

Noting that the new government in Pakistan "mean well",
the prime minister also said India is committed to resolve all
outstanding issues with Pakistan through peaceful dialogue.

"We are committed to resolving all outstanding issues
between our two countries through peaceful dialogue. There are
certain concerns we have about infiltration, about violations
of ceasefire, these I did raise and I hope that in the days
and months to come the Government of Pakistan will have the
wisdom to address some of them," Singh told reporters
accompanying him on his return home from the U.S. and France.

Singh described his meeting with President Asif Ali
Zardari on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in New
York last week as an "essay in mutual comprehension."

"I had not met him before and the two of us had one on
one talks that lasted for about 45 minutes, the outcome of
which you have seen in the form of a joint statement," Singh
said.

Singh also welcomed the return of democracy in Pakistan.

Asked when he planned to visit Pakistan, Singh was
non-committal. "It depends upon... we have to prepare these
visits well. We now have a new government in Pakistan, they
mean well and I sincerely hope that we can move forward to
strengthen our interaction with Pakistan," he said.

Indian officials are counting on Zardari to implement
all the pledges reflected in the joint statement issued after
his talks with Singh. It was a big step for Pakistan when
Zardari told Singh that terrorism has to be tackled head on,
they said.