CM tells Manmohan Singh that India and Pakistan can combat poverty if both sides resolve their differences. PHOTO: PAKISTAN HIGH COMMISSION, NEW DELHI
Shahbaz arrived in Delhi today on the invitation of his Punjab counterpart in India, Parkash Singh Badal.
The Punjab CM, who launched the much lauded and somewhat controversial Metro Bus Service in Lahore made it a point to visit the Patel Chowk Metro station. After riding the metro, Shahbaz said he had a great time and said the service was of great benefit to travelers.
In his meeting with Manmohan Singh, the CM said India and Pakistan could combat poverty if both sides resolved their differences.
He extended an invitation to Singh from Nawaz Sharif to visit Pakistan and his village, a source said.
Shahbaz Sharif "delivered a message of goodwill from Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif while emphasising Pakistan's desire to forge friendly and cooperative relations with India, in the interest of peace and prosperity of the people of the two countries and of the region", said a Pakistan High Commission statement.
The Pakistan Punjab Chief Minister also underscored the importance of resumption of dialogue and peaceful resolution of all issues.
Keen to ease the power situation in his state, Shahbaz would be visiting the Timarpur-Okhla Solid Waste Management Project in Jasola and the New Delhi Mahatma Gandhi Thermal Power Plant, Jhajjar, village Khanpur Kalan, according to the Pakistan High Commission.
He is slated to be the chief guest at the World Kabaddi Championship final in Ludhiana on Saturday.
COMMENTS (54)
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@Usman. Is your full name Arif Usman? Are you a Chartered Accountant? Is your wife an architect? Are you both qualified from Mcgill. Montreal?. Is your wife's initials N.N.?.
@Pakistani: The external debt on India is USD 376,000,000,000 which is $240 per capita. It is 20 % of India's GDP. Pakistan's debt is USD 67,000,000,000 which amounts $ 366 per capita and constitutes 30% of GDP. Indian govt also has 11th largest gold reserve to secure against its debt in times of crisis ten times the gold reserve of pakistan. India's forex is not 291 billion dollars as mentioned earlier to you, it is 295 billion dollars. The reserve increased by 4 billion dollars in the first week of december. Weekly rise of 4 billion dollars is greater that pakistan's balance reserve of 3 billion dollars. Besides our foundation is trade is money and not aid money. Kindly publish. Thank you :)
It's enough better for us.. @Zara:
Did he take polio drops?
@ Kashif This is because you don't follow the news regularly. Various CMs from India have visited Pakistan. For example, Nitish Kumar-CM Bihar visited Pakistan http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/nitish-wins-hearts-in-pakistan-narrates-bihar-growth-story/article4085089.ece and http://www.rediff.com/news/report/i-feel-happy-to-be-in-pakistan-says-nitish-kumar/20121110.htm Similarly, Indian Punjab's Deputy CM Sukhbir Singh Badal was accorded a warm welcome in Pakistan http://www.yespunjab.com/punjab/item/10868-sukhbir-singh-badal-accorded-warm-welcome-in-pakistan Reading the above links will definitely help you in understanding the "capacity".
So finally, India allowed Shahbaz Sharif without Polio certificate :-O
@CHINA:
"Chinas are 3.3 Trillion USD." all of it earned honestly by selling cheap shoes and poison-laden baby food, manufactured by slave labor.
@CHINA 6 hours ago Reply @ Moulali Sk Chinas are 3.3 Trillion USD..
..i chinese say we like pakistani CHINAmans like you. my lot of countly man live in pakistan like you.
Picture is worth thousand words. Compare the gold plated furniture at the PM of Pakistan (For Ex $2.6 Billion) house and that of PM of India (For ex $291 Billion).
Shabaz Sharif should also ride on Indian Railways ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Pakistan needs a functioning Raiway for the development of the economy.
IKs suggestion to build nuclear power plant at the LOC +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Shahbaz Sharif is going to finalise the deal in Delhi.
@Khan: May be he wants to have a metro in Pakistan?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XxOx7J5YmOE
In what capacity did he visit India? He is not the head of the state. I have not heard of foreign CM visiting neighboring countries. This is complete waste of tax payers money and these people should be help accountable.
@Pakistani: You just displayed your ignorance of macro economics. Debt is not necessarily a bad thing when a country is registering high growth rate. In fact any sharp businessman would consider a loan before using their own resources.
@ Moulali Sk Chinas are 3.3 Trillion USD..
@ Usman from Canada Probably you can't realize the agony that Pakistani workers & students have to face while plying on public transport in Pakistan! Wastage of time,resources and polluting the environment. Transport economy has a multiplier effect of Marginal Productivity!
Is that all these Sharif brothers know about?? Roads and Metro? We need to overhaul our education system, cut our bureacracy, we need to simplify our laws, overhaul police, streamline the judiciary, improve government transparenc, fix these things...
@manjit Singh: the sharifs are from kashmir...
@GrimmJow: @Pakistani:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gold_reserve
The above link will tell you how much GOLD reserves India has (more than enough).
...how sweet of him to worry about solving poverty in india....which has one of the greatest GDP rates of growth..!! hahah
Better to have meeting with some federal indian secretary instead of singh, at least he has some bright future! What has poor singh got? Congress gone and so is manmohan....
And yes, I DO fully support the notion that Dr. Man Mohan Singh SHOULD visit Pakistan, at least in a private capacity to his native village of Gah, Chakwal. Surely if Mr. Zardari could visit Ajmer Sharif in the same vein, why not the Indian PM ?? Surely he has nothing to lose by doing that ... if anything, it may even give his party a few more votes i.e. Muslim votes in the crucial states of UP and Bihar. No I am not suggesting any ulterior motive here although alluding to electoral politics.... but my point is that at least if the Indian PM does visit at least in a private capacity (i.e. not in the "role" of the Prime Minister of India), he will surely "break the mould" that has unfortunately been built up between the two countries....
The likes of the DPC especially should learn a thing or two from the articulate and pragmatic Sharif brothers... especially this man Shahbaz. Sure India and Pakistan have differences and always will, but surely where we can cooperate we should and even if we cannot be "friends" at the very least we can try and be cooperative neighbours. What is wrong with that?
A day will come for shabaz that they will wonder seeing our metro once realised.
It is all in the family.....this is not the first time NS is running the country as is his own kingdom....
@fawad you dont say!!!
@Ram Ram: Its to be applied after 30th Jan 2014, if i am not wrong
@Pakistani - I simply google'd about world debt by countries, here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Listofcountriesbyexternal_debt
So the news was to glorify Delhi metro or the Sharif's visit.
Again haters are going to hate this, but this visit will definitely bring positive messages across the border. Although I am not a big fan of PMLN, but strongly believe that if any party can contribute to the normalization of Pak-India relations, it's only PMLN.
You will see great indo-Pak relations in coming years with more trade, visits, cricket matches and diplomacy.
he is pride of Pakistan and is acknowledged in India as well.
not welcome
he should be screened for polio. if not qualified should be sent back.
Relations between Indian Punjab and Pakistan's Punjab is different and are cordial, Can't it be same for whole nation of Pakistan and India. Sindh chief minister should also take some cue from it and visit the Indian Gujarat and also meet the PM. Chances are relations(trade and political) between provinces and between states can matter more in near future and will pave the way for CBM's and further improvement in relations...this time between India and Pakistan.
Was he invited? Why do people gatecrash?
@Moulali....can you please also let the people know how much is debt on India....
he might have brought the polio drop certificate.
Shahbaz sharif is the brother of nawaz sharif.
Did Shahbaz Sharif get polio vaccine before visiting India ? :-o
Uff our metro minister didn't have something better to do?
Dear NS, How much of our money is to be wasted on unnecessary trips by your family to india???
@Jibran: "Seems like in Pakistan no one is the prime minister and everyone is the prime minister. " ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ The real PM sits in Rawalpindi and lets the children play.
Hope he was surprised to see, how India developed as one of the leading economic power house and how pakistan lagging !
All this Punjabi "pappi jhappi" is not going work!!!!
There are many lessons to be learnt from India. How a democratic country with different religions and different languages and with a population of 1.3 billion is moving forward competing with so called super powers. India's Forex reserves are $291 billion as of now.
What a great PM !!! Meanwhile we are suffering major issues they are more interested in wasting our money on meaning less trips to india !! This man is not suitable for PM position
Hasnt the Punjab Govt contributed Millions in the coffers of JUD/LeT? ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ And isnt Shahbaz Sharif the CM of that Govt? Need I say more?
How many times will you go to India using our money?? We have way more important issues than India
Both brothers seem to be more interested in India
Seems like in Pakistan no one is the prime minister and everyone is the prime minister. Same goes for all other key positions.