Durable peace in South Asia ‘achievable’: Pakistan PM

October 13th, 2009 AMRITSAR - Amritsar is all set to host the 10-day 'Peace Festival 2009' from Wednesday that will see the participation of around 90 artists and activists from neighbouring Pakistan. This festival is being organised by the South Asia Foundation, a non-profit organisation that has eight autonomous chapters in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

September 19th, 2009 LONDON - Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari has again blamed terrorist attacks on non-state actors and supporters of dictatorship in Pakistan. In remarks made ahead of what he described as coming leadership level talks in New York, Zardari also called for meaningful progress toward resolving the dispute with India over Kashmir.

August 15th, 2009 NEW DELHI - India desires peace with all its neighbours in South Asia, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said Saturday. We want peace with our neighbours.

August 4th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - Pakistan's Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani has showered praise on his Indian counterpart Dr. Manmohan Singh, saying that he had no doubt about his sincerity towards the peace process.

July 30th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - Pakistan's Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has lauded his Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh after positive remarks by the Indian premier in parliament on the peace process with Pakistan. Gilani praised Manmohan Singh "for his bold vision of peace and prosperity in South Asia and the statesmanship he demonstrated", the Nation newspaper reported on its website Thursday.

July 28th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - Pakistan has accused India of threatening peace in South Asia by expanding its military arsenal. "Continued induction of new lethal weapon systems by India is detrimental to regional peace and stability," Pakistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said late Monday.

July 28th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - A day after the Pakistan Navy expressed concern over India announcing the launch of its first indigenously built nuclear submarine - the INS Arihant saying it could trigger off an arms race in South Asia, the Pakistan Foreign Office has said that such a step would destabilise the region and would have a detrimental effect on regional peace. "Continued induction of new lethal weapon systems by India is detrimental to regional peace and stability," Foreign Office spokesman Abdul Basit said.

July 16th, 2009 India and Pakistan discuss resuming talksSHARM EL-SHEIK, Egypt — The prime ministers of India and Pakistan had a rare encounter Thursday on the sidelines of a Non-Aligned Movement summit in effort to defuse tensions between the two nuclear powers after last year's terrorist attacks. The much anticipated meeting came after a seven-month freeze in the political dialogue between the two historic adversaries after a days-long assault by gunmen from Pakistan left 166 people dead in India's financial capital of Mumbai.

July 15th, 2009 Sharm-el-SHEIKH - Pakistan believes in "durable peace" in South Asia facilitated by the resolution of all disputes with India, including Jammu and Kashmir, its Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said here Wednesday. Addressing the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) summit a day before he meets his Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh, he said there had recently been "forward movement " in relations with India.

July 13th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Pakistan must ensure that its soil is not utilized by militants to wreak havoc inside other countries in the region, former US State Department Advisor on South Asia, Lisa Curtis has said. Addressing a Congressional panel here, Curtis said establishment of peace and stability in South Asia depends on Pakistan's ability and its willingness to counter extremism breeding inside its geographical territory.

May 7th, 2009 KARACHI - Pakistan's hockey experts believe that the team will have to revert to the old style of playing attacking hockey to win the Asia Cup title in Malaysia. Pakistan is one of the seven teams competing in the 2009 Asia Cup which will get underway in Kuantan (Malaysia) Saturday.

April 18th, 2009 SRINAGAR - Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) patron Mufti Mohammad Sayeed on Saturday termed pre-conditions for talks with Pakistan 'dangerous'. "The pre-conditions set by India that peace process would not be resumed till Pakistan hands over the Mumbai attack accused is dangerous for peace in the South Asia," Mufti told reporters here.

March 9th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Steering clear of contentious issues, former Pakistan president Pervez Musharraf Sunday underlined the need for Pakistan and India to resolve all disputes so that they can expand their economic ties and claim their place in an Asian century. 'This century is the century of geo-economics.

February 14th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - Former president Pervez Musharraf has said that his government had not inked any agreement with the US over drone attacks on Pakistan, Online reported. Musharraf said: 'Increase in terrorism and extremism is influencing people towards Al-Qaeda and Talibanisation.

January 29th, 2009 LAHORE - The future of Pakistan-India relations depends on the investigation into the Mumbai attacks, a senior official of the South Asian Free Media Association (SAFMA) said here Friday. Imtiaz Alam, secretary general of SAFMA, said the objective of a Peace Mission’s visit to India was aimed at restoring the broken ties between the two neighbors.