Islamabad: Pakistan today (Nov 29) welcomed Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's remarks that he would be glad if his Pakistani counterpart Zafarullah Khan Jamali meets him during the January South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation (SAARC) Summit in Islamabad and said that the two countries should start talks.

"It is a good news and talks between two countries should start," Pakistan Foreign Office spokesman Masood Khan told "Voice of America" radio while responding to a question on Vajpayee's comments on Thursday (Nov 27) in Lucknow.

Vajpayee had said that "one-to-one meeting aur ekatte mein koi farak nahin hain. Mein vahan ja raha hoon. Agar who milenge tho badi khushi hogi (There is no difference between one-to-one meeting or meeting collectively. I am going there. If he (Jamali) meets, then I will be very glad."

Khan said the two countries "should resolve their issues through bilateral talks, especially the core issue of Kashmir. It is the only way for the establishment of peace in the region".

PTI