Pak will continue to support "just cause" of Kashmiris, says Gilani

As India sought to bridge the "trust-deficit" with Pakistan, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said on Monday his country will continue to support the "just cause" of the people of Kashmir.

During a meeting with Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir "president" Raja Zulqarnain Khan and "prime minister" Raja Muhammad Farooq Haider, Gilani said, Pakistan will "continue to support the just cause of the people of Kashmir." "The whole nation is united on the Kashmir issue and stands with their Kashmiri brothers and sisters for the realisation of their fundamental and inalienable rights."

He also sought an end to the "long legacy of hostility and distrust" between India and Pakistan so that the two countries could work towards the peaceful resolution of the Kashmir issue. "There is an imperative need to end the long legacy of hostility and distrust and to work towards a peaceful resolution of the Kashmir issue in accordance with the wishes of the people of Jammu and Kashmir," Gilani was quoted as saying in a statement issued by his media office.

Pakistan remains committed to the peaceful settlement of the Kashmir issue through negotiations and dialogue despite the country's own regional challenges. Earlier, addressing a press conference in New Delhi, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said, "Trust deficit is the biggest problem and unless we tackle the trust deficit we cannot move to substantive negotiations."

"It is my conviction that the major problem between our two countries, why we could not make any headway in the composite dialogue, is that there has been a lack of adequate trust," Singh said.