Pakistan upbeat on entry into ARF

Pakistan upbeat on entry into ARF

PAKISTAN: Prime Minister Zafrullah Khan Jamali on Tuesday expressed confidence that rival India would agree to Pakistan's entry into a security forum of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

Pakistan's admission into the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) was blocked on technical grounds last year by India, which is one of the forum's 23 members, but Jamali is now hopeful of success because of warming relations between the nuclear-armed neighbors.

"I feel that there will be no blockade from the Indian side," the prime minister was quoted as saying by the state Associated Press of Pakistan news agency. "I feel confident."

Indian officials were not immediately available for comment on Tuesday.

Earlier this month, Pakistan's foreign ministry said it had approached all the forum's members, including India, to admit it into the ARF.

The forum is Asia's largest security grouping. It includes the 10 member nations of ASEAN, as well as 13 dialog partners from Asia and the Pacific and the West, including China, Japan, Russia and the United States. They discuss political and security issues of mutual concern, including the threat of terrorism. --AP