"India's Foreign Minister Natwar Singh telephoned me this morning, and said he wanted to say something about statement appearing in the national press of Pakistan on Sunday, in which he had been misquoted, said Kasuri at a news briefing at the State Guest House here on Sunday.
Natwar said he had many friends in Pakistan and wanted to improve relations between the two countries, said Kasuri.
Natwar clarified that he had been misquoted and misinterpreted, the foreign minister told reporters, said Kasuri, adding that Natwar also clarified his earlier statement about President Pervez Musharraf, saying: "I hold President Pervez Musharraf and you Mr Foreign Minister of Pakistan in the highest esteem."
When asked whether the telephonic conversation of Natwar Singh with the foreign minister of Pakistan should be considered as a 'clarification', Kasuri said, "yes it should be considered as a clarification, but by Natwar Singh and not by me."
During the telephonic conversation the Indian foreign minister touched upon all issues of bilateral interest and talks were conducted in the spirit of friendship and bonhomie, Kasuri said.
To a question about Kashmir issue, Kasuri said neither India nor Pakistan could impose any solution to Kashmir, as both were aware of the ground reality that the war was not the solution to the problem, adding the international community is also cognisant of the fact that both India and Pakistan had nuclear capability, and the war between the two will affect the entire world.
Kasuri said he was happy that a date for the secretary-level talks between the two sides had been fixed, adding he will also be meeting with his Indian counterpart hopefully in China during the current month.
"We will also meet again when as chairman of the Council of Foreign Ministers of Saarc, I will call the meeting of the Council, while our third meeting will take place in New Delhi", said Kasuri.
Earlier, Kasuri, in his opening statement, said there is realisation in India and Pakistan that the war is not an option and both countries have to look ways and means to walk for peaceful settlement of old disputes between the two countries, including the issue of Jammu and Kashmir, which can ensure peace and stability in the region, justice for people of occupied Kashmir and secure future of the people of South Asia.
He said the current Pakistan and India peace initiative enjoys backing and support of international community, including the US, EU, China, Japan and the Muslim world, adding: "As foreign minister I have been involved in peace process in the two countries."
He said it was unfortunate that 1/3 of the poor of the world live in South Asia and India and Pakistan have common interest in normalising relations so that they could move effectively to combat poverty.
"India's Foreign Minister Natwar Singh telephoned me this morning, and we agreed to avoid conducting diplomacy through media that could result in misunderstanding, and also agreed to keep in touch for the sake of recent peace move, and make the process successful", he said, adding: "We are heading towards secretary-level talks on nuclear issues, CBMs and look forward to a positive dialogue between the two sides."
Kasuri said he believed that with joint efforts, the governments of Pakistan and India could create environment of peace and security leading to stability in South Asia, adding that Natwar Singh on telephone also told him that he was completely committed to improving relations between Pakistan and India.
He said Pak-India relationship no longer lies in the past, but in the future, adding: "I am also looking forward to a constructive engagement with India to resolve all outstanding issues between the two countries, including Jammu and Kashmir.
The minister also said that Pakistan wants a peaceful resolution of all outstanding issues with India through a composite dialogue for the sake of peace in the South Asia region, and India should also realise this ground reality.
He said the Kashmir issue was also a reason for poverty in both countries, and added that the countries, that got freedom after India and Pakistan, have left both of them behind in the field of socio-economic development.
Comparing the figure of foreign investment in Pakistan, India and China, he said in China it is 57 billion US dollars, in India 3 billion dollars, while in Pakistan it is only one billion dollars.
In reply to a question about India's conditional willingness to consider the gas pipeline from Iran via Pakistan, Kasuri said this project was in the interest of the entire region and particularly in the benefit of India as it was facing shortage of energy.
About Pak-US relations, Kasuri said during his recent visit to US, he observed that there was a 'bipartisan support' for Pakistan in Congress, saying: "Due to our geo-political position, we are an important country in US and the other world."
To a question regarding sending Pak troops to Iraq, Kasuri said no decision would be made in this regard against the wishes of the people of Pakistan.
AFP ADDS: India's new Foreign Minister Natwar Singh told his Pakistani counterpart, Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri, "the dialogue process with Pakistan would be carried forward" and contacts would be "further intensified."
"Both sides have vested interests in promoting good bilateral relations," the source said Singh had told Kasuri, who initiated the telephone call.
Singh said India held the Pakistan leadership "in the highest esteem," adding, "the future of India-Pakistan relations does not lie in the past."
Quoting an Urdu couplet, Singh said, "The two rivals were dreaming of a dawn (of peace) and looking at ways for peace never explored before.
Kasuri fully reciprocated these views, an official source in New Delhi said on Sunday, adding both ministers had decided to ignore "distortions" of statements made in the Indian and Pakistani media.