Democracy will bring India, Pak closer, hopes Zardari

Islamabad, Jun 17 : Dubbing the Kashmir issue "as old as" Pakistan, President Asif Ali Zardari today said his country will engage India in dialogue for its amicable resolution and hoped that democracy will play a positive role in bringing the neighbours closer.
Talking to media after addressing the NATO Council in Brussels, he also described Taliban as the "biggest threat" not only to Pakistan but the whole world and said "defeat is not an option" in the offensive against the terror group.

Replying to a question about relations with India with particular reference to the Kashmir issue, he said democracy could play a positive role in this regard and bring the two countries closer.

Zardari, who met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh yesterday on the sidelines of the SCO Summit in Russia, said Kashmir issue is "as old as" the country and for its amicable resolution, Pakistan will engage India in dialogue, official APP news agency reported.

The Indo-Pak composite dialogue has been stalled since the Mumbai terror attacks.

On Taliban, Zardari said though "their hotbed is between Afghanistan and Pakistan", the militant outfit is "not only a threat to Pakistan but the whole world." He said the government, the army, the people and the nation is determined to fight the war against Taliban.

"Defeat is not an option for us," he added. PTI