At the end of Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf's three-day visit, he read out a joint statement along with Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh at the Hyderabad House in New Delhi on Monday.
These are the highlights of the joint statement.
1. The President of Pakistan General Pervez Musharraf and Begum Sehba Musharraf visited New Delhi as guests of the Prime Minister of India and Shrimati Gursharan Kaur on April 16 to 18, 2005.
2. While in New Delhi, the Pakistan president called on the Indian President A P J Kalam. He also met Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, who hosted a dinner in his honour. The president also watched the last one-day international cricket match between India and Pakistan.
3. The Pakistan president and the Indian PM used the opportunity to review progress in Indo-Pak relations. They assessed positively the progress that had been made so far through confidence building, people-to-people contacts and enhancing areas of interactions. The leaders were determined to build on the momentum already achieved.
4. They reaffirmed the commitments made in the Joint Press Statement of January 6, 2004 and the Joint Statement issued after their meeting in New York on September 24, 2004 and expressed satisfaction on the progress in the peace process and the improvement of relations between the two countries that has since been realised.
5. Conscious of the historic opportunity created by the improved environment in relations and the overwhelming desire of the people of the two countries for durable peace, the two leaders had substantive talks on all issues. They determined that the peace process was now irreversible.
6. In this spirit the two leaders addressed the issue of Jammu and Kashmir and agreed to continue these discussions in a sincere and purposeful manner for a final settlement. They were satisfied with the discussions and expressed their determination to work together to carry forward the process and to bring the benefit of peace to their people.
7. They also agreed to pursue further measures to enhance interaction and cooperation across the Line Of Control including agreed meeting points for divided families, trade, pilgrimages and cultural interaction.
8. They condemned attempts to disrupt the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad bus service and welcomed its successful operationalisation. The two leaders pledged that they would not allow terrorism to impede the peace process.
9. They decided to increase the frequency of the bus service and also decided that trucks would be allowed to use this route to promote trade. They also agreed to operationalise additional routes, the next being the Poonch-Rawalakot link. They also look forward to early start of the bus service between Amritsar and Lahore and to religious places such as Nankana Sahib.
10. They agreed to re-establish the Khokhrapar-Munnabao route by January 1, 2006.
11. They agreed that the Consulates of the two countries in Mumbai and Karachi respectively would be opened before the end of the current year.
12. They endorsed the decisions taken in the meetings of foreign secretaries of the two countries on December 27-28, 2004, and the foreign ministers on February 15-17, 2005, on the schedule of meetings later in the year, the agreements to be worked upon through these meetings and the measures to be taken to alleviate the situation of prisoners.
13. On the issues of the Sir Creek and Siachen, they instructed that the existing institutional mechanisms should convene discussions immediately with a view to finding mutually acceptable solutions to both issues expeditiously.
14. It was agreed that the Ministers of Petroleum and Natural Gas would meet in May to explore cooperation in the sector including on the issue to pipelines.
15. Both leaders agreed that enhanced economic and commercial cooperation would contribute to the well being of the people of the two countries and bring a higher level of prosperity for the region. The two leading economies of South Asia should work together for the greater prosperity of the region.
16. The leaders decided to reactivate the Joint Economic Commission as early as possible. They also agreed that the Joint Business Council should meet soon.
17. The Pakistan President conveyed his gratitude for the hospitality provided during the visit and invited the Prime Minister to visit Pakistan. The invitation was accepted in principle. Mutually agreed dates would be worked out through diplomatic channels.
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