Pakistani leader optimistic about Kashmir dialogue

The military leader of Pakistan, General Pervez Musharraf, has expressed optimism that Islamabad and Delhi can resolve the issue of the disputed territory of Kashmir.

In an interview with the BBC, General Musharraf said progress depended on both sides acting with sincerity and the interests of Kashmiris at heart.

He said Pakistan would not set any pre-conditions on Kashmir, but accused India of doing so.

Speaking about the timetable for a return to democracy in Pakistan, General Musharraf said he was confident that it would happen by the court-imposed deadline of October, 2002.

He said he believed that the military could bring a new political culture to Pakistan, with reforms that would be sustainable and permanent. Earlier, military officials said a brigadier and two other soldiers were killed in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir, when their vehicle hit a landmine on a main road, north of the capital, Srinagar.

No group has said it was behind the attack.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service