KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 25: President Pervez Musharraf said here on Tuesday South Asia was the only region in the world which was not concentrating on economic development and pleaded once again for a solution of all Indo-Pakistan disputes, including Kashmir.

Speaking at a crowded press conference at the media centre here at the Putra World Trade Centre — the venue of the 13th summit conference of the Non-Aligned Movement — the president denied an Indian newsman’s charge that he was going against the spirit of NAM by raising bilateral issues like Kashmir.

“Every issue is bilateral,” the president said. “It then later becomes internationalized.” Besides, the Kashmir issue involved a principle and it related to the United Nations resolutions. The Palestine issue, too, was raised at the summit, so he saw no reason why the Kashmir issue could not be mentioned.

There were many similarities between the two issues, he said. Both became issues in 1948, and the United Nations was involved in both. There was also a UN resolution on Kashmir passed as far back as 1948. Above all, both involved the issues of human rights, and there were atrocities. “We must not apply UN resolutions selectively.” NAM was a forum for conflict resolution.

A correspondent for an Indian newspaper asked him if it was true that his reference to Kashmir in his speech to the NAM summit was a setback to Indo-Pakistan relations. The president said relations between the two countries were already at a low ebb. “They cannot get any worse. We are not having a dialogue. Saarc has not met, and we are not playing cricket.”

The president seemed to mind the Indian prime minister’s reference to him by name. He said: “I had no intention of raising any tempers here. I did not name any name... did not name anyone. But I regret that the (Indian) response was directed at me. I would like to leave it at that. I still extend my note of friendship. I would like a dialogue” so that the two countries address their bilateral issues. What he had done at the NAM summit was to raise the issue of Kashmir as a principle because Kashmir was a matter of principle. Every NAM leader would be failing in their duty if they did not help in conflict resolution.

Gen Musharraf said NAM was a forum for conflict resolution, and tensions between Pakistan and India were causing concerns the world over. “The onus lies on both sides to resolve all issues to have peace in the region, because South Asia is the only region in the world which is not concentrating on economic development.”

The president denied an Indian correspondent’s charge that Pakistan was involved in “cross-border terrorism.” What was going on in occupied Kashmir was a freedom movement. Originally it was a political agitation for freedom, but the Indian “response to it was violent, so it turned into an insurgency. If you call it cross-border terrorism then that is not going to solve the Kashmir issue.”

Asked how we would react if he found Mr Vajpayee sitting next to him, the president said he would say, “How are you, Mr Prime Minister?” He said his offer of friendship with India was still there, but it takes two hands to clap. “It is true that India is a large country, with a large population and large armed forces. But Pakistan is a sovereign country and would like to be treated like a sovereign country. This is something we will guard jealously.”

Other points made by the president were:

* Osama bin Laden is dead. “I am extremely sure he is not alive.” But if he is alive then he must be in Afghanistan. There are hundreds of caves which have not been searched. In Pakistan, a man of Osama’s stature cannot hide.

He must move with a large number of bodyguards, and therefore he cannot go unnoticed. The Pakistan Army and the Frontier Constabulary are there, and there is excellent cooperation from the tribesmen. If Osama is located, the tribesmen will inform the government. He was a kidney patient and “my own feelings is that he is dead.”

* Al Qaeda is on the run. The government was satisfied with the way the things were moving with regard to Afghanistan. Al Qaeda has ceased to exist as a major organization. Its command and control system has been destroyed.

It no more has the capacity to organize operations on a big scale. All some individuals can do is to carry out terrorist attacks here and there.

* NAM still has a role to play. Even though with the end of the Cold War, the strategic environment in this unipolar world has changed, NAM must try to find a new focus and try to revitalize the movement. It can play a role in the dialogue between North and South and in South-South cooperation. NAM’s involvement in these issues will be of great value because it has a large membership and, consequently, a large number of people whose voice will make a difference.