Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, May 24: People’s Democratic Party (PDP) today said that Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s respect to Modi’s initiatives has introduced an element of much needed positivity to the Modi’s stint as the PM of the country.
The PDP president, Mehbooba Mufti, welcomed the decision of Sharif, to participate in the swearing-in ceremony of Narendra Modi as Prime Minister of India.
Mehbooba said the occasion will introduce a lot of positivity into the relations of the two neighboring countries. “Unfortunately, Kashmir has been the worst victim of the hostilities between the two,” she added.
The PDP president said while Modi’s initiative of inviting all SAARC leaders was a welcome new step, the focus of attention remained as to how the Pakistan PM would respond to the invite.
“Nawaz Sharif by accepting the invitation with grace and showing respect to Modi’s initiatives has introduced an element of much needed positivity to the Modi’s stint as the PM of the country,” said Mehbooba.
The PDP president said the breaking of ice on Indo-Pak front has always been the centerpiece of South Asian regional co-operation under the SAARC. She said the flip-flop relations between the two countries, unfortunately, have restricted the potential of co-operation between South Asian countries, which are all trying to fight poverty and very depressing human development indices.
Referring to the stalled peace process initiated by the former PM, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Mehbooba said the new beginning should lead to progress on resolution of Kashmir and other issues and the Confidence Building Measures (CBMs) along the Line-of-Control (LoC) need to be carried further.
The PDP president said there was a need for a sustained dialogue which should not get interrupted by the events as has been case in the past. She expressed the hope that the two PMs would be able to carry the public opinion in their countries and respond positively to the need for a dignified and lasting peace in the Sub-continent.
The Chairman of Hurriyat Conference (HC) Mirwaiz Umar Farooq welcomed Sharif’s decision to attend Modi’s oath-taking ceremony. He said that Hurriyat is ready to contribute positively to any sincere and serious effort to resolve the Kashmir issue.
Mirwaiz said: “We had welcomed the decision to invite Pakistan Prime Minister. It is a good thing Nawaz Sharif has decided to come. We expect that a sustained dialogue will start in near future between India and Pakistan. We are always ready to contribute positively to any sincere and serious effort for resolution of Kashmir issue.”
The Hurriyat chairman said that he has always supported improvement in relations between the two countries. “We feel that Kashmir issue also cannot be resolved till the trust and confidence of the two countries in each other does not strengthen”, he added.
Mirwaiz said both the Governments in India and Pakistan have got strong mandate from their respective people and it was a good opportunity for them to resolve the issue. “Besides talking about issues, we hope that they will talk on the core issue of Kashmir as well so that ways of resolving this issue are found in a time-bound manner,” he said.
The CPI (M) State Secretary, Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami welcomed the diplomatic gestures shown by India and Pakistan with regard to swearing-in ceremony Modi.
Tarigami in a statement hoped that the invitation from Modi to SAARC leaders, including Pakistan Prime Minister, and the nod given by Nawaz Sharif proves to be an opening of addressing certain substantive issues between the two countries.
“Hope these signals emanating from the two countries right now prove helpful in bridging the gap of uneasy relations in future,” he said.
Trending Now
E-Paper
Follow our WhatsApp channel