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Pak rules out unilateral troops' withdrawal
Pakistan on Monday ruled out unilateral withdrawal of troops from the Pakistan occupied Kashmir.
Pakistan on Monday ruled out unilateral withdrawal of troops from the Pakistan occupied Kashmir.
It also said the future of Indo-Pak dialogue process was not "bleak" in the wake of India's rejection of its suggestion to pull out troops from three cities in the Valley.
As a result of India's rejection of President Pervez Musharraf's suggestion to India to pull out the army from Srinagar, Kupwara and Baramulla, Pakistan too will not unilaterally withdraw troops from PoK, Foreign Office Spokesperson Tasnim Aslam said.
"Certainly let me put it on record that there will be no unilateral demilitarisation," she said clarifying remarks made by Pakistan Foreign Minister Khurishd M Kasuri on Sunday that Pakistan was ready to pull out troops from PoK.
Kasuri while elaborating on Musharraf comment's made in a TV interview told BBC that while Pakistan was willing to pull out troops from PoK, it wants the entire region to be demilitarised by both India and Pakistan.
Kasuri said Musharraf's comments should be seen as an advice. He said India "as usual" did not react favourably to the advice, which was not conducive to better relations between both the countries.
Reacting to India's rejection of the troop pull out plan, Aslam said it cannot be termed as a failure of Pakistan's foreign policy.
"There is no foreign policy failure here. We would have liked to see the peace process move more quickly. It is not moving at the pace we would have desired, but at the same time while we have expressed our disappointment it is not all bleak," she said.
