Thursday, April 14 2005 20:44 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: Ahead of his week-end visit to India, Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf today (Apr 14, 2005) indicated that he favoured converting the Line of Control (LoC) as a "soft border" but would not accept it as a permanent border for a final solution to the Kashmir problem.

After the start of the bus service across the LoC, Pakistan would like to see more routes across the territory opened. "That really is the first step towards converting it into a soft border," he said in an interview to Reuters telecast by Indian channels.

Musharraf, who arrives in here Saturday on a three-day visit, said he had "made very clear to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh that we cannot accept the LoC to be the final solution. We have to find an out-of-box solution".

In an interview to 'Outlook' magazine, External Affairs Minister K Natwar Singh said there was no question of taking Pakistan "off the hook on cross-border terrorism" and that it would not be prudent to set any time-frame for resolution of the Kashmir imbroglio.

Musharraf, who is scheduled to hold talks with Singh on Saturday, said he was going to India in a "very harmonious and friendly environment" unlike his last visit in 2001 for the Agra Summit when the atmosphere was "tense" and was "fairly optimistic" that the Kashmir issue could be resolved.

Asked whether he felt the peace process was irreversible, he said a series of CBMs have done a great deal to improve the mood. "If you see people to people contacts; the business community; the media; the cultural interaction; even the politicians coming here exchanging from this side and going on that side, it is fairly irreversible, I would say.

Musharraf said he planned to take up the Kashmir dispute immediately "because we don't have that much time" but declined to say if he would be bringing anything new to the table in India.

He said he was fairly optimistic about a solution to the Kashmir issue "because I see Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to be a sincere person and wanting to come to a resolution of this dispute."

National Security Advisor M K Narayanan said the Prime Minister put forward proposals relating to fresh confidence building measures, including more bus services.

He said the Prime Minister was willing to meet the Hurriyat leaders but parried a query whether the Government would give permission to them to go to Pakistan.

Pakistan Foreign Minister Khurshid M Kasuri said a "constructive" approach by the two leaders, as seen in their meeting in New York last year, could help in making progress on the Kashmir issue.