Batni (MP): Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee on March 27 hoped that the US-led war on Iraq would end soon and affirmed India's stand that the issue should not be resolved through use of force but through the United Nations.

Vajpayee said he had conveyed the country's stand to US President George Bush, telling him that he should discuss the matter with the United Nations.

The US had stated that it had no option but to use force against Iraq, Vajpayee told reporters in this village in Satna district of Madhya Pradesh after dedicating a watershed project.

"I hope that the war between the US and Iraq would end soon," the Prime Minister said.

The trend set by the US by violating United Nations norms on the contentious issue of Iraq will also affect India to some extent, Vajpayee said.

He has written to various nations including China and France on the Iraq issue.

When his attention was drawn to the fact that he himself had gone to Lahore for talks with Pakistan for resolving bilateral issues but nothing has come out of it, Vajpayee retorted, "Though the talks failed, still one should again try so that success can be achieved."

On the issue of recent violence in Jammu and Kashmir, the Prime Minister said that the terrorists were now a confused lot.

He described as very sad the killing on March 26 in Ahmedabad of senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Haren Pandya.

PTI