Musharraf steps back from anti-India tirade at UN

Musharraf steps back from anti-India tirade at UN

In a marked departure from his anti-India tirade of previous years, Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf used the United Nations platform on Wednesday to appeal to India to resolve the Kashmir issue with "sincerity, flexibility and boldness".

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However, even as he hailed the ongoing composite dialogue process, Musharraf sought to emphasise that Pakistan was "giving bilateralism a final chance" and warned against inordinate delays in resolving the Kashmir issue.

While expressing happiness that the normalisation has progressed well and in a cordial atmosphere so far, he stressed that the dual channels of confidence building measures and the dialogue process must proceed in tandem.

Musharraf, who perhaps for the first time in recent times had refrained from harping on third party mediation at international forums, said he looked forward to his meeting with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh here on Friday. He went on to say that Pakistan was for "strategic stability with India".

"I would like to convey to him that this is the moment for peace - we must not allow it to slip away," he said adding it was his firm conviction that Pakistan and India can resolve all differences, including over Jammu and Kashmir, through "a sincere dialogue".