Let’s talk, Mush offers Manmohan

Washington: Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf wants the India-Pakistan dialogue to be raised to the summit level and also says terrorism should not be allowed to derail these talks.

The joint statement that he and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh issued after their Havana meeting "has seeds of success and forward movement", he told students of George Washington University here Friday.

"But while the ministerial-level talks and secretary-level talks must continue, I personally am of the view that they have run their course because there have been so many meetings. So it is a time that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and myself, we sit down and reach decisions and solutions," he said.

This was so "because I always believe that one should not -- never suffer from paralysis through analysis," he said quoting former US President Richard Nixon in his book on the leader.

Musharraf said he had a wonderful meeting with Singh, whom he described as "a very positive and a very sincere person." And if Singh comes to Pakistan, "we will try to move this process forward."

"People of both the countries want peace and want us to succeed in resolving our disputes, and therefore, it is up to the leadership to make sure that they get resolved," he said.

As the two countries are going to resume talks, Musharraf said he believed that the talks should never break down through any kind of terrorist activity - which we condemn and strongly oppose - because the aim and objective of all terrorists is to make sure that these talks fail.

"So we'll be playing into their hands if we were to allow the failure of talks because of these actions," he said in an apparent reference to New Delhi calling off foreign secretary-level talks after the Mumbai train bombings.

He also appealed to the people of both countries to show understanding and flexibility and give support to both him and Singh because there are people who do not want peace to come about and would prefer to derail the process.

"They have rigid positions. They don't want to move the peace process forward. I appeal to the people of both countries to understand and give both of us support that we move forward," Musharraf said.

"And let me tell that there's a resolve on both sides to move the process forward," he declared.