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Pakistan is ready to discuss all outstanding issues, including Kashmir, with India as war is not the solution to any problem, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has said.
It is necessary to resolve all issues between India and Pakistan so that the countries could give attention to the problems of the people, he said in an interview to a TV news channel. Replying to a question about Pakistan's relations with India, he said Islamabad has always maintained that the ties "should be on the basis of equality."
Resolving outstanding issues would allow the two countries to focus on the problems of the 1.5 billion people of the subcontinent, including unemployment, price rise and the lack of infrastructure and the basic needs of life, he said. Gilani said Pakistan is ready to discuss all outstanding issues, including Kashmir, with India and asserted that war is not the solution to any problem.
In response to another question, Gilani said US drone attacks in Pakistan's tribal area are counter-productive for the war against terror.
"We are trying to convince the US through diplomatic and military channels that these attacks are counter-productive and they will be convinced," he added. Pakistan wants the US to share actionable information about militants and to transfer drone technology as the country's army is fully capable of taking on the rebels, Gilani said.
Terrorism is one of the problems which Pakistan is facing and when militants violated an agreement with the government, action was taken against them, he said while replying to another query. Asked if his government would be able to complete its erm as it was facing several major problems like an energy crisis, Gilani said politics is a day-to-day affair and even a
week is too long in this field. "I am not thinking whether I will win the next election. I am thinking (about) how to stabilise the country," he said. Some difficult decisions have to be taken to ensure stability and put the country on the right track, Gilani said.