KUALA LUMPUR, June 13: President Pervez Musharraf said on Monday that he was very hopeful that the decades-old Kashmir dispute with India could be resolved. “I am very hopeful. The most important thing is for the leadership to have the will to reach a conclusion and I see that at this moment the leadership does have the desire and the will,” he told reporters on a stopover here en route to Australia.

“Therefore I am optimistic that it will be resolved in a certain time frame,” he said when asked if the dispute could be resolved in a year or two, according to the Bernama news agency.

President Musharraf said he would ‘love to go’ to occupied Kashmir but that the time was not right to propose a visit. “Let’s see how things develop,” he added.

The president also defended the decision to deport top Al Qaeda operative Abu Faraj al Libbi to the United States after his arrest in May, saying it was an important move for the international fight on terror.

“If you can do much more to get to the roots of Al Qaeda, to apprehend more people around the world through the interrogation of this one man, I think that is more important than trying him (in Pakistan),” he said.

“Trying him will come later and we’ll think about that later,” he said.

“Other than the charges against him ... what is more important is to corroborate all the intelligence and information we get from arresting or apprehending other terrorists.”

IN CANBERRA: President Musharraf arrived in Canberra on Monday for a groundbreaking visit to Australia to discuss cooperation in counter-terrorism and links between Australian militants and guerrilla training camps in Pakistan. Gen Musharraf, the first Pakistani head of state to visit Australia, will hold talks with Prime Minister John Howard and other cabinet officials in Canberra on Tuesday before wrapping up his tour in Sydney on Wednesday and Thursday.

President Musharraf is scheduled to address Australia’s National Press Club and attend a state dinner on Tuesday ahead of a meeting with Mr Howard for official talks on Wednesday.

The focal point of President Musharraf’s visit will be the signing of an agreement on information-sharing and other cooperation in the fight against terrorism, Australian officials said. Trade issues are also expected to figure prominently.

Before President Musharraf’s arrival, Mr Howard praised his ‘courageous and resolute’ role in fighting terror networks such as Al Qaeda, as well as his strong personal commitment to improving relations between Pakistan and India.

“Pakistan is a key ally for Australia in the war on terror and has played a pivotal role in efforts to dismantle global terrorist networks such as Al Qaeda,” he said.

“These agreements play an important role in fostering cooperation between our intelligence, security, law-enforcement and defence agencies,” Mr Howard said in a statement.

President Musharraf told Australia’s public television network SBS last week that this kind of intelligence-sharing would be a key aspect of the agreement.—Agencies