Pak-India parliamentary dialogue: Pakistan terms peace essential for regional stability

Eurasia News

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan said on Thursday that durable peace was essential for the stability of the region which was only possible through a sustainable dialogue process, Dispatch News Desk reported.

Speaking at a luncheon hosted for a delegation of Indian Parliamentarians in Islamabad on Thursday, Prime Minister’s Adviser on Foreign Affairs and National Security Sartaj Aziz emphasized that the peace process should not be allowed to become a victim of domestic politics as that would not augur well for future relations.

The 13-member delegation‚ representing 11 Indian political parties‚ is in Pakistan for the fifth round of the two-day Pakistan-India Parliamentary Dialogue arranged by the Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development and Transparency (PILDAT).

Meanwhile‚ the fifth round of two-day dialogue between the Indian and Pakistani parliamentarians began in Islamabad on Thursday.

Inaugurating the event‚ Chairman Senate Syed Nayyer Hussain Bokhari expressed optimism that dialogue process between Parliamentarians from the two sides will herald a new dawn of promising improvement in our bilateral relations, strengthening inter-parliamentary and people-to-people relations for the common good of our peoples.

The chairman Senate said much more is needed to be achieved in fulfilling the promise of peace and good neighbourly relations between Pakistan and India.

Bukhari said destiny of our people is linked to each other and we therefore must adopt effective ways of cooperation to the benefit of our peoples.

Senators Mushahid Hussain Sayed‚ Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri‚ Afrasiab Khattak and Nasreen Jalil and other members of the Parliament also highlighted the importance of dialogue process.

Leader of the Indian delegation Mani Shankar Aiyar‚ former Union Minister and member of Indian Rajya Sabha‚ termed the dialogue process a very positive initiative and called for more interaction and people to people contacts to move forward.

Earlier‚ Ahmed Bilal Mehboob President PILDAT gave a brief overview of the four rounds of dialogue.