Friday, March 25 2005 18:52 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Islamabad: Pakistan today (Mar 25, 2005) said it would not withdraw its troops from the Siachen glacier unilaterally as it would be seen as a sign of weakness but asserted it has a positive approach towards the issue.

"Pakistan stands by the agreement, entered with India on the withdrawal of forces from Siachen, many years back, but there can be no unilateral withdrawal," Kasuri told reporters at a function at the Foreign Service Academy in Islamabad, a day after expressing readiness to pull out the country's forces from the world's highest battlefield.

He, however, did not give the details of the agreement which he claimed was there between the Governments of India and Pakistan.

Yesterday, he told NDTV in an interview that Pakistan was ready to pull out troops from the Siachen glacier, a remark dubbed as "nothing new" by India which maintained that there could be no movement unless Islamabad "authenticated the present positions".

Today, he said, "Any unilateral act is an indication of weakness, unilateral acts never lead to peace."

Kasuri said peace could only be achieved when both sides expressed a desire and took practical steps to demonstrate their will.

He said Pakistan had a positive approach towards the issue and added that there was a need to implement the decisions, already agreed upon.

Defence Secretaries of the two countries also had several meetings in the past and there was a need to move forward, he said.

About President Pervez Musharraf's forthcoming trip to India, Kasuri said the visit is very significant and would provide an opportunity to the two leaders to meet and discuss the issues confronting their countries.

"It will be a meeting of the minds. Lets hope that the visit leads to a positive result," he said.

To a question about the slow progress on major issues, Kasuri said both the countries have shown flexibility, particularly on the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad bus service.

About the issues of Baglihar and Kishanganga, he said, "There can be no compromise on Pakistan's lifeline. We only want implementation of the Indus Water Basin Treaty, we are not making any out of the way demand."

He said there would not have been a need for seeking appointment of a neutral expert from the World Bank on the Baglihar issue, if the matter had been settled through bilateral talks. The Indus Water Basin Treaty, he said, has given a way out in case of a dispute.

"We hope we will not use it for Kishanganga," and it all depends on India, he said. "Have we not enough capacity to settle our disputes through bilateral means? Where there is a will there is a way."

About the progress on finalisation of the dates for the 13th SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) summit, he said the regional countries were working together to agree on the dates which would be announced soon.