Insisting that a lot of progress had been made with India on the vexed Siachen issue, Pakistan on Saturday said it could be settled if the two countries displayed the required political will.

"Our position is clear. We understand that there has been a lot of progress and it requires some meetings, and given the political will it should be resolved," Pakistan Foreign Minister Khurshid M Kasuri said.

When reporters referred to his statement a fortnight ago that a resolution of Siachen was a matter of days, Kasuri said he had said that in a certain context.

"I had said that given the political will, it can be resolved in a few weeks or few days," he said.

Asked about the Pakistan Army's insistence that the country will not authenticate troop positions at Siachen, Kasuri refused to comment, saying he had not read any such statement.

'That could be at the back of their minds. To ask Pakistan to authenticate [positions held by Indians] is not justified because the full area is disputed and to insist for such things, I do not think it is correct,' Pakistan Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen Ehsan-ul-Haq, had told a TV channel in Islamabad on Thursday.

Kasuri is in India on a three-day private visit during which he will meet External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee and hold informal discussions on bilateral issues.

He will attend Union Minister Manishanker Aiyer's daughter's wedding.

Describing Aiyer, who received him at the airport, as his old friend with whom he has had an association since their days in Cambridge, Kasuri said he intends to attend all ceremonies related to the wedding.

Kasuri will also meet former external affairs minister K Natwar Singh and former prime minister I K Gujral.