On Board Special Aircraft: Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani on May 15 gave a qualified welcome to the ban on Maulana Masood Azhar's entry into Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir (PoK), saying if it was an indication of a beginning of a change in Islamabad's attitude, then it was welcome.

"If this ban on Azhar's entry into PoK is any index of a beginning of a change, it is welcome," he told reporters accompanying him on his day's visit to Mangalore.

Referring to Prime Minister Zafarullah Khan Jamali's statement that there was no change in Pakistan's attitude towards Kashmir, Advani said, "This does not bother India. What India is keen about is a change in Pakistan's attitude to cross-border terrorism."

"Our insistence for the last several years is that cross-border terrorism, as an instrument of state policy, has to be abandoned," he said.

Advani said today Pakistan was cautious because the international community was extremely raged over terrorism.

Referring to US policy towards Pakistan, Advani said Washington's foreign policy requirements warranted Pakistan to be a steady ally and in order to keep it in that position, they kept on giving certificate to Pakistan.

PTI