Bangkok: Pakistan's entry into the high-profile security club ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) will be decided when the group meets on June 18, even though ASEAN (Association of South East Asian Nations) has lifted its moratorium on accepting new members.

A joint communique issued on June 17 at the end of a two-day meeting of ASEAN Foreign Ministers at Phnom Penh said, "We agreed to lift the moratorium, and to consider the application of new participants of ARF on a case-by-case basis.

"We agreed to accept Pakistan as a new participant in the ARF. In this regard, we decided to communicate our consensus to non-ASEAN ARF participants," it said.

ARF includes ASEAN members plus India, Australia, Canada, China, the European Union (EU), Japan, Mongolia, New Zealand, North Korea, South Korea, Papua New Guinea, Russia and the United States.

The Foreign Ministers also welcomed the recent developments in India-Pakistan relations, particularly the peace initiatives by Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee.

The communique said these are "encouraging steps towards a fully normalised relationship between the two sides".

The ministers hoped that India and Pakistan would continue their talks and co-operation and resolve differences through peaceful means in the interests of their people, and for peace and stability in South Asia and the world.

Some members in the ASEAN like Malaysia are keen to have Pakistan join the ARF.

According to sources, the ASEAN has informed 12 other non-ASEAN countries about proposals to include Pakistan, Bangladesh and East Timor in the ARF.

PTI