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PM asks Pak not to create
hurdles in J&K polls

Devidas Gupta in Tokyo

Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on Tuesday asked Pakistan not to create "hurdles" in the way of elections in Jammu and Kashmir and said the atmosphere for resumption of dialogue with Islamabad was not "congenial."

"Pakistan should not create hurdles in the way of holding polls (in Jammu and Kashmir). Let the people of the state freely come out, participate in the elections without fear," Vajpayee told reporters before leaving for New Delhi after a five-day visit to Japan.

To a question whether Japan wanted India to resume talks with Pakistan to resolve outstanding disputes, he said that every friendly nation wanted New Delhi to do so.

Asked whether Japan would back India in getting a permanent seat in the UN Security Council, Vajpayee said the Japanese prime minister had given an assurance in this regard. In return, India would help Japan secure a seat in the International Court of Justice, he said.

Both Japan and India favoured restructuring of the United Nations and an increase in the number of seats in the Security Council, he said.

Vajpayee said the relations between Japan and India, strained by 1998 nuclear tests, were now getting back to normal and Tokyo appreciated India's concern about its security.

He recalled that Tokyo had reacted strongly to India's nuclear tests and said "there is no animosity now. This shows the maturity in our ties."

Before leaving for India, the prime minister had an audience with Japanese Emperor Akihito, who hosted a lunch in his honour.

PTI

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