Thursday, February 17 2005 18:30 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: Returning home after clinching an agreement with Pakistan on running Srinagar-Muzaffarabad bus service, External Affairs Minister K Natwar Singh today (Feb 17, 2005) said a foundation of "positive sentiment and hope" had been laid in bilateral relations which was capable of yielding more results.

He, however, said that the peace process could be sustained only in an atmosphere free of violence and terrorism.

Singh told reporters at Delhi airport on his return from a three-day visit to Pakistan that his talks with President Pervez Musharraf, Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz and Foreign Minister Khurshid Mohammed Kasuri were held in "cordiality and shared desire to take relations forward towards the goal of peace, mutual understanding and shared prosperity.

"There is a groundswell of goodwill and positive sentiment among people in both countries for a relationship free from enmity," he told reporters in New Delhi.

Besides deciding to run Srinagar-Muzaffarabad bus service from April 7, the two countries also agreed on a number of other confidence building measures.