Pakistan Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz said on Wednesday he remained hopeful that sustainable peace could be achieved with India after a friendly meeting with his counterpart Manmohan Singh. But in a sign of the differences which continue to dog relations between the nuclear-armed neighbours, Aziz said progress on the bitter dispute over Kashmir was necessary if they were to build better ties. "As regards the issue of Jammu and and Kashmir, we believe this is an issue we all need to address, and progress on other issues will be made in tandem with the progress on the issue of Jammu and Kashmir," Aziz told reporters. Ties could not be normalised overnight, he later told business leaders of the two countries. "We are not in a 100-metre dash. This is a marathon, the process of improving relations," Aziz said. "Pakistan-India relations are not ordained to remain adversarial perpetually. "It is time for a strategic rethink, time to move away from rigid mindsets. If India takes a step forward, Pakistan will respond by two. We will demonstrate flexibility, if India chooses to do the same." Aziz said peace talks would continue on a range of issues and expressed optimism that the two sides, who have fought three wars in the past five decades, could achieve sustainable peace. "The dialogue process will continue," he said. "Pakistan wants peace with its neighbours and peace with India. We want to settle all issues in a manner which is friendly and which helps our whole region grow."
