Leader of the Opposition and Bharatiya Janata Party president Lal Kishenchand Advani on Sunday said distrust between India and Pakistan is hampering normalisation of relations between the two countries.
After an over 30-minute meeting with Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf in New Delhi, Advani told reporters that the issue of terrorism did come up in their talks and the visiting dignitary spoke of "mutual intransigence" as the reason for the delay in resolving the Kashmir issue.
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Advani said he told Musharraf that "sometimes distrust worsened the problem". But at the same time, he said, he lauded the Pakistan president's January 2004 statement in Islamabad during the SAARC summit that Pakistani territory would not be allowed to be used for anti-India terrorist activities.
This, Advani said, had led to a breakthrough. "Since the joint statement between the then prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Musharraf, things have been moving constantly in the right direction and as we move forward, we will sort out the problems," he said.
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Advani said he would probably visit Pakistan in June this year.
Musharraf had a pleasant surprise for Advani in the form of an album containing photographs from his school days till his last visit to Pakistan.
Advani, who studied in the same school as the Pakistan president, said they had a hearty discussion about their alma mater.
Complete coverage: Cricket and Kashmir -- Musharraf in India
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