India-Pak peace process slow under UPA Govt: Pak leader

New Delhi, May 3 (UNI) Opposing joint management of Jammu and Kashmir as a solution to the vexed issue, a prominent Pakistani leader today said the ongoing India-Pakistan peace process was on track but the talks under the Manmohan Singh-led UPA Government lacked pace.

''The multi-layered peace process is on track. All the aspects are coming together...but people in Pakistan feel that under the leadership of Mr Atal Bihari Vajpayee the pace and momentum of the process could have been faster,'' said Mr Mushahid Hussain, Chairman of the Committee on International Relations in the Pakistani Senate.

Heaping praises on former Prime Minister Vajpayee, Mr Hussain, Chairman of the Committee on International Relations in the Pakistani Senate, said the NDA leader is viewed as a statesman in his country and given credit for initiating the peace process.

''Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is a well-respected leader....

I feel the issues like the peace process should be left to political leaders otherwise we will be left squabbling over commas and semi colons and cleaning up the English language,'' said Mr Hussain who is the secretary-general of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League (PML-Q). Mr Hussain was minister-in-waiting when Mr Vajpayee took the peace bus to Lahore in February 1999.

Mr Hussain, who is in India on a private visit since April 30, was drawing parallels on the peace process under the NDA and the UPA governments.

Advocating permanent resolution of Kashmir issue, the former Pakistan Information and Broadcasting Minister said it would be in the larger interest of the people to resolve it.

''We should learn lessons from history... Resolution is always a good approach and not management of the problem,'' he added.

Addressing a meet the press at the Press Club of India here, Mr Hussain said the dialogue process had weathered several test and proved its sustainability.

''The peace process has stood the test of nuclearisation of the two nations, blasts on Samjhauta Express and US-India nuclear deal. Both the countries have displayed maturity and confidence on all these issue this is a good sign for the future,'' he added.

''Conventional wisdom in India and Pakistan was turned around by the initiative of peace process... misconceptions and mistrust has been done away with,'' he said.

Hailing the Round-Table conference, convened by the Prime Minister, he said the working groups had recommended addressing the human rights violations in the state, which was a welcome step.

Mr Hussain said the pipeline agreements involving India, Pakistan and Central Asia reflected positive signs of shared cooperation driven by energy security.

During the visit, Mr Hussain, a former journalist who became a minister in the Nawaz Sharif government and considered close to the ruling dispensation in Pakistan, called on the Prime Minister, Leader of the Opposition L K Advani and Mr Vajpayee.

UNI