Thursday, March 17 2005 13:53 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Islamabad: Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf has urged the US to support efforts aimed at resolving the Jammu and Kashmir issue, saying normalisation in the region would not be possible without its settlement.

During a meeting with the visiting US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, he said, "Normalisation in the region would not be possible without a settlement of the core dispute."

The Confidence-Building Measures (CBM) should be matched by tangible progress in the dialogue process, Musharraf told Rice yesterday (Mar 16, 2005).

The US Secretary of State lauded Musharraf's vision for South Asia and initiatives to promote peace and stability in the region and briefed him about her discussions with the Indian leadership.

Musharraf and Rice expressed satisfaction at the cooperation between the two countries in wide-ranging fields and reviewed bilateral relations, exchanged views on regional and international issues of mutual interest.

They expressed pleasure at "the excellent cooperation between Islamabad and Washington with the latter reaffirming Washington's commitment to have a broad-based and sustainable partnership with Pakistan", an official statement said.

Rice appreciated the "important role" being played Pakistan in promoting peace and stability in the region and praised Musharraf for his "bold vision for south Asia and initiatives to promote peace and stability in the region".