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

New York: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf today (Sept 15, 2005) agreed to carry forward the peace process and resolve all outstanding issues, including Jammu and Kashmir, through negotiations and peaceful means.

At their meeting here lasting nearly four hours, the two leaders also vowed not to allow terrorism to impede the peace process.

The two leaders affirmed their commitment to the decisions taken at their meeting in New Delhi and agreed to expedite their implementation.

"We also welcomed the progress made within the framework of the Composite Dialogue, including the promotion of trade and economic relations and people-to-people contacts and confidence building measures," the statement said.

The two leaders welcomed the recent release of over 500 prisoners on both sides and agreed to continue this process on a humanitarian basis.

"We expressed our commitment to ensure a peaceful settlement of all pending issues, including Jammu and Kashmir, to the satisfaction of both sides," the statement said.

They agreed that possible options for a peaceful negotiated settlement in this regard should continue to be pursued in a 'sincere spirit and a purposeful manner.'

Musharraf said he invited the Prime Minister to visit Pakistan, which Singh has accepted.

In his remarks the Prime Minister said they had covered extensively the issues between the two sides in their discussions.

"I am very satisfied with the outcome of the talks," Singh said.

The two leaders did not take any questions from the media with Musharraf saying, "This statement is sufficient for now. We leave everything for later. We have the task for pursuing this (the peace process) in a sincere manner."