'Pakistan will never accept LoC as int'l border with India'

"Pakistan is ready to hold talks with India on all issues, including Kashmir, but it will not accept the Line of Control as a border," the Daily Times quoted Ahmed as saying in an interview with a local TV channel.

Reiterating Islamabad's policy of third party mediation on the Kashmir issue, he called on international powers to help solve the issue.

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He also stressed on the participation of Kashmiris in talks over Kashmir. In talks between Pakistan and India, Kashmiris should be involved," he said.

Praising Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's stance vis-a-vis Pakistan, the minister said: "Vajpayee is the only leader in India who can solve all outstanding issues with Pakistan."

Asserting that the 12 points proposed by New Delhi were being considered by Pakistan, Rashid said: "More will depend on the upcoming South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) summit as far as relations between Pakistan and India are concerned."

AFP adds: A teenaged girl and a man were killed and a woman injured when Indian and Pakistani troops traded fire for several hours over their de facto border in Kashmir, police said Friday.

Two Indian army barracks were damaged but no soldiers were hurt during the shelling overnight in the Gurez sector of Indian Kashmir's northwestern Baramulla district, a police spokesman said.