"It's quite clear that neither Pakistan nor India are in a position to impose their will on the other as far as Kashmir is concerned," Khurshid Kasuri said at the UN's headquarters in New York.

"The only sensible course seems to be to persist with the dialogue," he told reporters.

Sonia Gandhi of the Congress Party is to be sworn in as the new prime minister of India on Wednesday, after her left-leaning coalition ousted the ruling market-friendly Hindu nationalists with a shock victory at the polls.

"The relationship with India and Pakistan is important for both countries," said Kasuri, who was chairing a special Security Council session on the future of UN peacekeeping. Pakistan is the current council president.

"I am happy to see the reaction from the Congress party and some other leaders who are likely to support the Congress government," Kasuri said.

"The major problems facing Pakistan and India are ones of poverty ... we should concentrate on problems of poverty," he said.

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