ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani on Tuesday underlined the need of addressing core issues with sincerity under resumed dialogue process between Pakistan and India.
Talking to a Sikh delegation led by Chaudhry Abhay Singh, Member of State Assembly of Haryana, here at the PM House, the Prime Minister expressed satisfaction that dialogue between the two countries had resumed.
He noted that secretaries of Interior, Home, Commerce and Defence had already met while Foreign Secretaries' level talks were scheduled for next week.
Gilani also stressed the need of increased trade between the two countries and called for people-to-people contacts, particularly through enhanced exchanges of parliamentarians to bring the people of two countries closer.
The Prime Minister while referring to his recent visit to Mohali to witness Cricket World Cup's Semi Final, recalled his interaction with Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh and other leaders of India.
He reciprocated the Indian Prime Minister's keen desire to discuss all issues between the two countries and stated that Pakistan and India must resolve all the core disputes to live peacefully and to divert their attention towards addressing the problems of poverty and socio-economic development.
The Prime Minister also underlined the need for proper maintenance and upkeep of religious shrines and other holy places of every religion in both the countries.
He said that the pilgrims from the two countries should be facilitated during their visits to respective shrines.
The delegation expressed satisfaction over the upkeep and good care of their Gurdwaras and holy places in Pakistan. They thanked the people and government of Pakistan for the hospitality.
The Sikh delegation included Abishek, Member of State Assembly of Rajhistan, Mininder Singh, Hara Singh and Surinder Singh. Minister for Labour and Manpower Ch Wajahat Hussain, Minister of State for Housing and Works M Raza Hayat Hiraj, MNAs Sardar Talib Hussain Nakai, Sardar Asif Nakai and Syed Sumsam Ali Shah Bukhari, and senior officials were also present in the meeting.
Copyright APP (Associated Press of Pakistan), 2011
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