Pakistan is committed to serving as an anchor of peace and stability in the region, Pakistan s ambassador to India Shahid Malik said. In his address at Indian National Defence College, he said peace and stability could not be achieved in a vacuum or sustained if it was not based on solid foundation, according to the state-run Associated Press of Pakistan (APP). Malik said the foremost objective of Pakistan s leadership had been peaceful resolution of all disputes with India, including Jammu and Kashmir. This was essence of a lasting and durable peace, the ambassador said. Referring to Pak-India relations, he informed the participants of the course at the college that the resumption of the dialogue between both the countries had provided a good opportunity to address the contentious issues in a sincere and purposeful manner. While the process had yielded some positive results, a just and lasting settlement of the Kashmir dispute, in accordance with the wishes of the Kashmiri people, was essential to achieve this objective, Malik said. In response to a question on Pakistan s reaction to the recently concluded US-India nuclear agreement, he said Pakistan expected the Nuclear Suppliers Group to evolve a criteria based approach, enabling Pakistan to access civil energy under appropriate safeguards to meet its energy requirements.
