Pak PM Imran Khan call for dialogue and trade with India
ISLAMABAD : Pakistan’s new Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan on Tuesday renewed his call for dialogue and trade with India a day after it emerged that Indian PM Narendra Modi in a letter to Khan had said India was looking for “constructive and meaningful engagement” with its neighbor.
Analysts in India see Khan’s comments as more of what has been said by Pakistani leaders earlier rather than presenting an opportunity for an opening for peace talks with Pakistan
Imran Khan, a former cricket star who was sworn in last week, tweeted that the two countries should focus on alleviating poverty in South Asia by pursuing new trade agreements. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Khan after his swearing-in and expressed a desire for talks.
Pakistan’s new foreign minister, Shah Mahmood Qureshi acknowledged the long history of strained relations between Pakistan and the United States, saying Pakistan would insist on relations based on “respect and trust.”
“We have rendered great sacrifices in the war against terrorism,” Qureshi said, adding that he looked forward to meeting with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who is expected to visit the region in September.
In two tweets on Tuesday, Mr. Khan also came out in support of his friend and Punjab Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu’s presence at his swearing-in ceremony in Islamabad on Saturday.
“I want to thank Sidhu for coming to Pakistan for my oath taking. He was an ambassador of peace & was given amazing love & affection by ppl of Pakistan. Those in India who targeted him are doing a gt disservice to peace in the subcontinent —without peace our ppl cannot progress,” he said.
“To move forward Pakistan and India must dialogue and resolve their conflicts incl Kashmir: The best way to alleviate poverty and uplift the people of the subcontinent is to resolve our differences through dialogue and start trading,” he said in a second tweet.
Meanwhile, In Chandigarh, Mr. Sidhu hit out at the BJP for adopting “double standards” on his gesture of hugging Pakistan Army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa.
“When Mr. Narendra Modi became Prime Minister of India, he invited heads of SAARC nations including former Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif for the swearing-in ceremony. Mr. Sharif was accorded a warm welcome when he reached India. Not only this, Mr. Modi, with a hope in mind, had suddenly gone to Lahore to attend a family function of Mr. Sharif and greeted him without even any official formalities,” Mr Sidhu said
