Pak army wants peace too, says PM

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday said the India-Pakistan peace process has the support of the Pakistan army, and that he will visit Islamabad only when it takes "solid steps" on the 26/11 attacks.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday said the India-Pakistan peace process has the support of the Pakistan army, and that he will visit Islamabad only when it takes "solid steps" on the 26/11 attacks.

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Singh said he didn't have blind faith in his counterpart Yusuf Raza Gilani but that their discussions had given him a positive feeling.

"When I discussed with the Pakistan PM whether Pakistan's armed forces were on board (on the peace process), the feeling I got… was that they were on board."

Pakistan foreign minister Hina Rabbani Khar had made the same claim earlier.

On whether he'd be visiting Pakistan, Singh said that whenever Gilani met him, he extended an invitation.

"But I also said the right moment to visit Pakistan will be if solid steps are taken (by Pakistan on 26/11)."

The PM said he clearly understood "that one more Mumbai-like attack will be a big setback to the peace process", and that Gilani understood this as well.

On his "man-of-peace" remark, Singh said, "In Gilani, Pakistan has a Prime Minister ready to work with us... I tend to believe Pakistan has a democratic government. We would like to strengthen the hands of the democratic government."