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Zardari's "Kashmiri terrorists" statement not exactly what he meant: Pak Foreign Secy

Beijing, Oct 24 ANI: Pakistan Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir has said that his country's President Asif Ali Zardari's statement describing the Kashmiri fighters as "terrorists" was not exactly what he meant, as the definition of terrorism was not satisfactorily resolved yet. "The issue of the definition of terrorism has not been resolved satisfactorily at any forum, and, therefore I think what is attributed to the President is not exactly what he meant," said Bashir in an exclusive interview with ANI in Beijing on the sidelines of the seventh ASEM Summit. He added: "Zardari's statement on militants in Kashmir is wrongly attributed. I think we have to look at this issue of militancy and violence wherever it is and in whatever form it takes place. I think Pakistan is doing a lot to stem this out, and we want to get rid of this phenomenon of senseless violence against innocent civilians anywhere in the world." Zardari's statement of describing Kashmiri fighters as "terrorists" has drawn fire from political parties and fundamentalists, who see it as a "paradigm shift" in Pakistan's Kashmir policy. On the prevailing economic crisis in his country, Salman said: "We have to look at the global economic situation globally, very objectively, this is the time for countries, regions, neighbours to think deeply to work out ways and means so that we are not only able to have minimize the negative fall out of the financial crisis." Meanwhile, Indian Prime Minister Dr Manohan Singh is expected to meet his Pakistani counterpart Yousuf Raza Gilani in Beijing today. About the scheduled meeting, Bashir said: "First of all it's great that both Pakistan and India have joined the ASEM process. The two prime ministers are meeting today. We have had a very good interaction at the leadership level between the two countries we welcome this opportunity." The duo had first met nearly three months ago, on the sidelines of SAARC summit in Colombo. Then, they also met last month on the sidelines of United Nations General Assembly in New York. Refusing to comment on the announcement of Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir, the Pakistani foreign secretary said: "I have no comment to make on the announcement. I believe there has been some reaction locally......we are just following that." ANI