Friday, March 4 2005 14:40 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: India has made it clear to Pakistan that the peace process was "critically dependent" on the fulfilment of President Pervez Musharraf's commitment to stop terrorism emanating from his country, External Affairs Minister K Natwar Singh said in Rajya Sabha today (Mar 4, 2005).

Making a suo motu statement on developments in Nepal and his recent visits to Afghanistan and Pakistan, Singh said that "meaningful progress" has been achieved in the Indo-Pak process and Government intends to continue with it in an atmosphere free from terrorism and violence".

"Government has made it clear that the process is critically dependent on the fulfilment of the January 6, 2004 commitment of President Musharraf not to permit any territory under Pakistan's control to be used to support terrorism in any manner," he said.

On the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad bus service, he said that it was expected to commence on April 7. The decision to start the bus link was taken in Islamabad after talks Singh had with his Pakistani counterpart Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri during his three-day visit from February 15.

The Minister clarified that all Indian and Pakistani nationals would be permitted to use this route across the Line of Control (LoC).

He said that the procedure adopted for the service was "without prejudice to our stated position on the issue of Jammu and Kashmir".

The display of "mutual flexibility" has enabled the two sides to take a significant step in responding to humanitarian considerations, particularly the opportunity for divided families to meet each other with relative ease and convenience, he said.