News
Thursday, March 24, 2011
War no solution to Indo-Pak issues* Gilani says talks only way forward
* Appreciates contribution of civil society towards promoting ideas of peace, friendship
Staff Report
ISLAMABAD: War is not a solution and talks are the only way forward between Pakistan and India. The government would like to continue work with India to resolve all outstanding issues peacefully in a just manner, Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani said on Wednesday.
The prime minister appreciated the contributions of the members of the civil society of both India and Pakistan for promotion of peace, friendship and development in the region. “I want to benefit from the wisdom of the civil society and peace activists in pursuing cordial neighbourly ties with India,” he said.
Gilani said this while talking to an Indian peace delegation, led by famous Indian journalist Kuldip Nayar, who called on him at the Prime Minister’s House.
The PM said that his government’s first priority was the well being of the people of Pakistan for which peace and stability in the country was vital.
Hence, Pakistan wishes to build friendly, cooperative and good neighbourly relations with India and Gilani had personally invested into the peace process, given his family’s long-standing historical contributions in the joint India war of liberation and India-Pakistan friendship.
The prime minister recalled his meetings with his Indian counterpart in Sharm el-Sheikh in 2009 and in Thimphu in April 2010 and said that he fully believed in the sincerity of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for resolution of all the disputes between the two countries through a peace process. He urged all the politicians as well as media of both the countries to play a positive role in taking the peace process forward.
Prime Minister Gilani expressed satisfaction over the resumption of the dialogue between the two countries by noting that the interior secretaries of the two countries will meet in New Delhi next week to take up terrorism, drug trafficking and humanitarian issues.
He said that the Indian commerce secretary would be visiting Islamabad towards the end of April whereas other segments of the strategic dialogue were being scheduled to pave the way for a meeting between the two foreign secretaries followed by a visit to New Delhi by Pakistan’s foreign minister in July.
The prime minister emphasised the need for increased people to people contact, exchange of parliamentary delegations and an un-interrupted dialogue process to focus on the contentious issues and on promotion of trade, economics, intelligence sharing, sports and cultural cooperation. Gilani assured the Indian delegation that Pakistan will project the forthcoming talks in a constructive manner and it was his earnest hope that the talks would serve to reduce the trust deficit and create a solid foundation for taking the process forward.
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk