In what may be seen as a strategic move to protect former Pakistan president General Pervez Musharraf from charges of high treason, senior British diplomat Mark Lyall Grant met top political leaders in Islamabad.According to sources, during his meeting with Zardari, Grant also called for expediting the trial of the accused in the Mumbai terror attacks, and provide New Delhi with some 'face saving' gesture so that the peace talks could resume.
The United Kingdom, France and Nepal have supported India's candidature as a permanent member of a reformed United Nations Security Council as member nations expressed frustration at the lack of progress on long-pending reforms in the powerful UN body.
The United Nations Security Council has asked nations not to pay ransom to terrorists in incidents of kidnapping, saying such funds are used by terror groups to support recruitment efforts and carry out attacks.
"The political stars never quite aligned but a solution similar to the Northern Ireland Good Friday Agreement, with a soft border allowing locals to travel freely from one part of Kashmir to the other, will have to be the outcome of any peaceful solution," he noted.
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