Hand of friendship? Indian foreign secretary Shyam Saran and Pakistani foreign minister Khursheed Mehmood Kasuri shake hands before beginning a two-day meeting in Islamabad on Monday. (AFP)

Islamabad, Dec. 27: Pakistan has agreed with India for the first time that ?no artificial deadlines? can be set for resolving the Kashmir issue.

?Jammu and Kashmir is a complex issue. But it is not intractable. Given the political will of the Indian and Pakistani leaderships and the Kashmiris, we can find a solution to this problem,? Pakistani foreign ministry spokesperson Masood Khan said today after the first day?s talks.

But he was quick to add: ?You cannot or should not have any artificial deadlines to resolve it. There is a long history behind this problem. But it should be resolved sooner than later.?

Khan said both sides needed to show flexibility in resolving the issue but made it clear that ?the question of flexibility will only come when you are at the end of your negotiations?.

A few hours later, India?s foreign secretary Shyam Saran said almost the same thing. ?We are engaged in a process, not an event. You cannot have an instant solution to it.? He pointed out that the dialogue between the two sides was to address the mistrust between the two sides and regain each other?s confidence.

He stressed that the confidence-building measure that India has been insisting on taking forward was an attempt on its part to engage in a serious dialogue on Kashmir.

?If you ask me, the sooner we find a solution to it the better. But we are also aware that it cannot be done. It is a complex issue on which the sentiments of the two countries are attached. Whatever we do, we need to take the people along with us.?

But Saran was forthright in his contention that for the peace process to move forward, it was essential that Pakistan stick to its assurance of the joint statement of January of not supporting cross-border terrorism from its territory or territory under its control. ?Its implementation is the key for the peace process to move forward.?