Islamabad: Terming the Indo-Pak ceasefire along the Line of Control (LoC) as a "big success", Pakistan Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali has said his Indian counterpart Atal Bihari Vajpayee's visit for the January SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation) summit in Islamabad would strengthen the relations between the two countries.

"Ceasefire on both sides of the Line of Control (LoC) is our big success," Jamali said in his native town Dera Murad Jamali in Baluchistan province yesterday (Nov 29, 2003).

"The Indian Prime Minister is a veteran and seasoned politician and we received a positive response from him," he said, adding, "more positive steps are expected from the Indian side."

Jamali said Vajpayee's participation at the SAARC summit would strengthen the ties between the two countries and that the new developments would help the two countries to resolve the outstanding issues.

"I am hopeful that Mr Vajpayee would attend the SAARC summit in Islamabad and this would help improve bilateral relations," Jamali was quoted as saying by media reports today (Nov 30).

Later, Jamali said in an interview to a television channel that the resolution of major or basic issues would improve ties between Pakistan and India.

PTI