Pak asks India to send `positive signals`

Rezaul H Laskar
Islamabad, Dec 30 (PTI) Putting the onus on India to
"reduce" regional tensions, Pakistan Tuesday said New Delhi
must "deactivate" its forward airbases and relocate to peace
time locations troops deployed in forward posts to send a
"positive signal" for creating a "good atmosphere."

Pakistan however said there had been certain
developments in the past 48 hours that it thinks "augur well
for the situation". It also renewed its offer to cooperate
with India in bringing perpetrators of the Mumbai terror
attacks to justice.

"If the forward airbases activated by India are
deactivated, it will be a very positive signal," Foreign
Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said in a brief address on
state-run PTV.

Qureshi also proposed that ground forces which have
been deployed to forward posts should be relocated to peace
time positions.

"This will be a positive signal and regional tensions
will reduce," he said, adding a "good atmosphere will be
created to take things forward."

National Security Adviser Mahmud Ali Durrani said both
countries need to remove the "mistrust" and "put behind" the
Mumbai attacks to jointly fight terrorism.

"We want a nice friendly relationship with India so
that we can both live in peace. This is not only good for the
two countries, but good for the whole region," Durrani said.

One of these developments was External Affairs Minister
Pranab Mukherjee's comment that India had not given
Pakistan any ultimatum with regard to the Mumbai terror
attacks, he said.

"Neighbours can't solve problems through ultimatums.
Problems can be solved only through dialogue in a peaceful
atmosphere," Qureshi said.

Another positive development was the direct contact
over the weekend between the Directors General of Military
Operations of the two countries as this will also help reduce
tensions, Qureshi said.

The Foreign Minister said Pakistan would cooperate
fully with India once it shared evidence and information
regarding the Mumbai attacks.

"The government of Pakistan wants to assure (India)
that when the evidence reaches us – our approach from day one
was constructive and desirous of peace and we will make all
efforts to get to the bottom of the incident and bring the
perpetrators to justice," Qureshi said.

He said India still had not shared any evidence on the
Mumbai attacks with Pakistan.

"The basic reason for this is that their investigation
is yet to be completed. As soon as their investigation is
completed, they will share evidence with us," he added.

Expressing Pakistan's desire to cooperate with India,
Qureshi said: "direct contacts and diplomatic channels must be
kept open" and the two sides should not ignore the importance
of dialogue.

"The peace process is important for both countries. We
have always wished that we could sit at the table and
understand each other's positions and take things forward," he
said.

"Pressures and coercion between neighbours don't solve
problems. They worsen matters and should be avoided. They will
benefit only those who carried out (the Mumbai attacks) to
spark tensions and put regional peace at stake."

Qureshi also said: "Geography has made us neighbours
and we must learn to live as good neighbours." PTI