Pakistan PM hopeful on Kashmir

Both countries are trying to work towards peace

Pakistani Prime Minister Zafarullah Jamali has said the long-standing Kashmir conflict between India and Pakistan can be resolved if compromises are made by both sides.

But he said India would have to make the greater sacrifice as it had a larger chunk of Kashmir under its control and was also the larger and more powerful country.

Mr Jamali was fielding questions from Indian and Pakistani audiences in a phone-in run by the BBC's Hindi and Urdu services.

Mr Jamali said the resumption of dialogue between the two countries was a big breakthrough.

The two nuclear powers restored full diplomatic relations earlier this year, after fears in 2002 that they would go to war.

India praised

Mr Jamali said there were hawks on both sides of the border but he was confident the talks would lead to concrete results.

The Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee was "a patient man and a seasoned politician", Mr Jamali said, praising him for taking the initiative to resume the peace dialogue.

"Under his leadership I am confident that relations between the two countries will improve," he said.

Asked whether he was willing to meet Mr Vajpayee for talks at the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly which opens in September, Mr Jamali said: "We can meet anywhere.

"I am ready to meet him anytime. I have made my offer to the Indian prime minister and now it is up to him."

Kashmir has been a flashpoint between India and Pakistan for more than 50 years.

Currently a boundary - the Line of Control - divides the region in two, with one part administered by India and one by Pakistan.

India claims the whole of Kashmir, but has indicated it may be prepared to accept the Line of Control as the international border, with some possible modifications.

Pakistan and Kashmiri activists reject this plan because they both want greater control over the region.