Islamabad: Surprised at the ouster of Vajpayee Government, Pakistan said today (May 13, 2004) that it would endeavour to seek a peaceful settlement of all outstanding issues, including Jammu and Kashmir, and hoped that the new Indian Government would continue with the process of normalisation of ties.

"Pakistan desires peaceful and cooperative relations with India and looks forward to renewing the quest for promoting peace and stability in South Asia with the new Government in India," the Foreign Office said in a brief statement.

"Pakistan will endeavour to seek a peaceful settlement of all outstanding issues between the two countries, including Jammu and Kashmir," the statement said, without making a direct reference to composite dialogue process agreed to by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and President Pervez Musharraf.

Foreign Office officials in Islamabad, who had strongly hoped for the return of Vajpayee, said they were surprised by the scale of National Democratic Alliance (NDA) defeat and were eagerly watching the composition of new Government to establish contacts with its leadership.

Earlier reacting cautiously to the Indian poll results, Information Minister Sheikh Rashid said Pakistan believed the change of Government in India would not affect peace process, as it had the backing of the people of both the countries.

While officials in Islamabad monitored the results of polls on local and international channels, a number of politicians, diplomats and media personnel attended an open House organised by Indian High Commissioner Shivshankar Menon at his residence where they watched live coverage of ballot counting by Indian TV channels.