News
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Trust deficit main obstacle in Indo-Pak ties: Singh
* Indian PM says major effort is being made to bridge trust deficit with Pakistan
NEW DELHI: Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said on Monday that a cross-border “trust deficit” was the main obstacle holding back any improvement in relations between India and Pakistan.
“Prime Minister (Yousaf Raza) Gilani and I agreed that trust deficit was the problem blocking progress,” Singh told reporters, referring to recent discussions between the two men in the Bhutanese capital Thimphu.
“Pakistan is our neighbour. It is my firm belief that India cannot realise its full development potential till we have best relations with our neighbours,” he said, as he reviewed his year in power since re-election.
“We are going to make a beginning. The composite dialogue was suspended soon after attack on Mumbai,” Singh told reporters in New Delhi.
“This is the first major effort to deal with the underlying cause – which is lack of adequate amount of trust,” he said. “I am hopeful that this process can move forward.”
He also reiterated India’s willingness to discuss “all outstanding issues” - a phrase seen as diplomatic code for the bitter dispute over Kashmir - as long as Pakistani territory was not used for attacks against India, AP reported. agencies
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk