Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari has said that Pakistan is ready to wage a thousand-year war with India over the Kashmir dispute.
The Daily Times quoted Zardari as saying that this was a war of ideologies and would last for generations.
Addressing a joint session of the Azad Jammu and Kashmir Assembly and the Kashmir Council, Zardari said democratic governments had played a key role in moving forward on the Kashmir dispute.
"When Zulfikar had spoken of waging a thousand-year war, he never said he would not do it through talks or negotiations," he said.
Zardari said regional peace was inextricably linked to the settlement of the decades-old dispute over Kashmir.
"We cannot de-link regional peace from peace in Kashmir. We have highlighted this thinking in the world and will keep projecting it," he said.
Describing Kashmir as the 'jugular vein' of Pakistan, the president said, "Soon the time will come when the world will take important decisions regarding Kashmir."
Zardari said Pakistan and India should learn to live in peace.
"We know that we cannot change our neighbours, but they should also know that they can also not change their neighbours," he said.
The president also announced the formation of a committee under Kashmir Affairs Minister Manzoor Wattoo that would focus on assisting the people of Kashmir.
