Tuesday, October 4 2005 15:07 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Islamabad: India and Pakistan today (Oct 4, 2005) said they were engaged in finding a 'framework' for settling the issues of Siachen and Sir Creek on 'mutually-acceptable' basis as External Affairs Minister K Natwar Singh met President Pervez Musharraf here.

During the 40-minute meeting at the Army House in Rawalpindi near here, the two leaders also agreed that the Kashmir issue should be continuously addressed in a 'sincere and purposeful manner.'

Musharraf and Singh expressed satisfaction on notable progress in relations since January 2004 when the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee met the Pakistan President here, External Affairs Ministry spokesman Navtej Sarna told reporters.

He said the two leaders agreed that significant changes had occurred in the climate of bilateral relations since then.

Pointing out that Singh and Musharraf deliberated upon Siachen and Sir Creek issues, Sarna said, "They welcomed the ongoing discussions at diplomatic level on a framework to promote the settlement on these issues on a mutually-acceptable basis."

Musharraf and Singh said the change in bilateral relations was driven forward by the public opinion in the two countries and this was reflected in the decision of the two countries to expand areas of cooperation through revival of the Joint Commission after a gap of 16 years, Sarna said.

The two leaders welcomed the decision to launch the Amritsar-Lahore bus service in November and noted that the Amritsar-Nankana Sahib service would start shortly thereafter.

The two sides said that the Khokrapar-Munnabao rail link would enable more Pakistani pilgrims to visit shrines like Ajmer Sharif more conveniently, Sarna said.

Singh conveyed to Musharraf cordial greetings from President A P J Abdul Kalam and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, which was reciprocated by the Pakistani leader.

Musharraf told Singh that he was looking forward to the visit of Prime Minister to Pakistan and a warm welcome awaited him, Sarna said.