Islamabad: Hoping that India would reciprocate to the "measures" initiated by Pakistan to resume substantive and composite talks on Kashmir and other issues, Foreign Minister Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri said, Islamabad believed that the SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation) Summit would provide a way forward for the resumption of the stalled Indo-Pak dialogue.

"We sincerely hope that Indian leaders would reciprocate the spirit in which we have made these gestures with a view to moving towards the resumption of a substantive and composite dialogue on all issues, including the core dispute of Jammu and Kashmir," Kasuri said.

"It is also our hope that the holding of the SAARC Summit next month (January, 2004) in Islamabad would make a valuable contribution to the achievement of this objective," he said, addressing a ceremony held at Foreign Service Academy in Islamabad to mark the Final Passing Out of the First Special Diplomatic Course for Iraq diplomats.

Kasuri said the resolution of the Kashmir issue was "an essential pre-requisite for making headway in ushering in an era of peace, stability and progress in South Asia."

About Iraq, Kasuri said he hoped that the coming years would "witness the further strengthening of friendly relations and co-operation between our two countries."

"The Government of Pakistan has welcomed the formation of the Governing Council in Iraq as the first step in the direction of the restoration of the governance and sovereignty to the Iraqi people," he said.