Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf [Images] has said the recent meeting between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh [Images] and Kashmiri leaders was a "movement forward" in resolving the Kashmir issue.

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"There is a desire and realisation on part of the Indian leadership to resolve the Kashmir issue," he said referring to the recent talks between the prime minister and Kashmiri leaders in Srinagar [Images].

"This is a movement forward," he was quoted as saying by official APP news agency while addressing the 18th award
ceremony of All Pakistan Newspapers Society in Islambad on Friday night.

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"Let us hope for the best that good sense prevails and we come out with a solution which is acceptable to the people of Kashmir, to Pakistan and India," he said.

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The Pakistan president said the confidence building measures are moving forward, but Pakistan wants the parties to move towards conflict resolution.

Dr Singh, who chaired the round table conference on Kashmir on Thursday, suggested that Kashmiri leaders representing different shades of opinion focus on five areas, including strengthening security of the people, human rights,
working on economic future of the state and firming up institutional arrangement to bring people from both sides of the Line of Control closer to each other.

Speaking about the challenges confronting the country, the president assigned top priority to curbing extremism and stabilising the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, which included Waziristan tribal agency where Al Qaeda [Images] and Taliban militants were holed up.