Thursday, September 15 2005 15:18 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

United Nations: Raising the Kashmir issue once again in the United Nations, Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf today (Sept 15, 2005) said the composite dialogue with India should be result-oriented leading to a solution of Kashmir issue acceptable to all sides with the stress on implementation of UN Security Council resolutions.

Addressing more than 160 heads of State and Government holding a summit here, he said Kashmir issue should be resolved in the interest of 'ending a cycle of confrontation and conflict in the subcontinent'.

"India and Pakistan should not remain trapped by hate and history", Musharraf said adding the solution should be acceptable to Islamabad, New Delhi and 'above all to the people of Kashmir' and emphasized the need for implementation of the UN Security Council resolutions.

"It is in this spirit that Pakistan is pursuing the composite dialogue with India. We want the dialogue process to be result-oriented and initiate a new era of peace and cooperation in South Asia," he said.

Musharraf opposed the expansion of permanent members of the UN Security Council whose membership is being sought by India.

It should be expanded "not by adding a new elite but by reflecting more fully the entire spectrum of UN membership and this can only be achieved through patient dialogue and general consensus."

Pakistan supports expansion of the 15-member Council in the non-permanent category only and was among the countries, which had organized 'United for Consensus' group that had strongly lobbied against bid by India, Japan, Germany and Brazil for permanent membership in the days leading up to the summit which ultimately thwarted the reform of the UNSC.

Pointing out that terrorism is primary threat to world order, Musharraf said there was a need for understanding and addressing the motives behind terrorist acts. "These may not justify terrorism but they explain it," he remarked.

"We need to redress political and economic injustice," he said and suggested "Enlightened Moderation" which can "ensure success in eliminating terrorism and extremism." Musharraf favored evolving a new consensus to achieve disarmament and nuclear non proliferation, saying both the proliferation and the perpetual possession of nuclear weapons pose an 'unacceptable global danger.'

The 'catastrophic consequences' of a nuclear war make it imperative to prevent one from ever taking place, he told the world leaders.

"Weapons of mass destruction must not fall into hands of terrorists. To prevent this, we must aim to eliminate both the terrorists as well as the weapons of mass destruction," Musharraf said.

He said Pakistan would continue to promote a nuclear and conventional weapons restraint regime in South Asia and called for preventing destabilizing build up of arms and forces in 'regions of tensions' including South Asia, the Middle East and North East Asia.