New Delhi: Declaring that India has no intention to be Pak-centric in its policies, External Affairs Minister Yashwant Sinha on September 14 called for an end to the practice of the two countries attacking each other at every international and multilateral forum and said the forthcoming UN General Assembly session would be a "test for this".

Observing that as neighbours "we cannot wish each other away", he said "at the same time, we hope that Pakistan will also succeed in shedding its obsession with India".

"For example, the practice of turning every international and multilateral forum into a battleground to attack each other should end," Sinha said while launching the India-Pakistan CEOs' Business Forum.

Sinha's remarks came after Pakistan High Commissioner Aziz Ahmad Khan used the occasion to rake up the Kashmir issue.

"One single issue that has influenced our relations for over half a century is the non-resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute. Failure to address this most crucial issue is the main reason for the state of co-operation and relations as they exist today," Khan said.

He also said the two countries remained bedevilled by "deep-rooted suspicion and distrust" but went on to add that the peace initiative taken by the two Prime Ministers in April this year had generated enthusiasm at the popular level.

It was felt that finally the two countries would be able to break the decades-old impasse and make a new beginning in bilateral relations "by addressing the Kashmir issue and all other irritants dividing the two countries", Khan said.

PTI