Indo-Pak relations: ‘We shouldn’t have wasted resources on war’
Shahbaz Sharif advocates peace with India at luncheon.
LAHORE:
Instead of indulging in an arms race, India and Pakistan should compete instead in fields of education, science and arts, said Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif on Saturday.
He was addressing the 17-member delegation of Indian parliamentarians at a luncheon at the Chief Minister’s Secretariat.
Sharif said that both countries would have progressed if the issues had been resolved through dialogue and resources spent on public welfare “instead of wasting them on wars”.
It is high time that we give up confrontation, Sharif said, adding that the two countries needed to live peacefully. “There is no option [available] other than negotiations,” he said.
However, he added, efforts should continue to find solutions to all outstanding issues, including Kashmir. He called it an “essential” for durable peace in the region.
He called poverty, disease and ignorance “common enemies” and said cooperation would benefit both countries.
Sharif then talked about the last tenure of his brother, former prime minister Nawaz Sharif. He said that Atal Bahari Vajpai, the then Indian premier, had been welcomed with open hearts when he came to Lahore. Had the democratic process continued, “irritants” in Indo-Pak relations would have been removed, Sharif said.
Indian Lok Sabha speaker Meira Kumar thanked the chief minister for the lunch and appreciated the love that the visitors had received in Lahore.
The two dignitaries also engaged in an ‘impromptu’ recital of poetry, which was initiated by Meira Kumar. At the end, Kumar said she was “very impressed” with the chief minister’s taste in poetry.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 26th, 2012.
Instead of indulging in an arms race, India and Pakistan should compete instead in fields of education, science and arts, said Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif on Saturday.
He was addressing the 17-member delegation of Indian parliamentarians at a luncheon at the Chief Minister’s Secretariat.
Sharif said that both countries would have progressed if the issues had been resolved through dialogue and resources spent on public welfare “instead of wasting them on wars”.
It is high time that we give up confrontation, Sharif said, adding that the two countries needed to live peacefully. “There is no option [available] other than negotiations,” he said.
However, he added, efforts should continue to find solutions to all outstanding issues, including Kashmir. He called it an “essential” for durable peace in the region.
He called poverty, disease and ignorance “common enemies” and said cooperation would benefit both countries.
Sharif then talked about the last tenure of his brother, former prime minister Nawaz Sharif. He said that Atal Bahari Vajpai, the then Indian premier, had been welcomed with open hearts when he came to Lahore. Had the democratic process continued, “irritants” in Indo-Pak relations would have been removed, Sharif said.
Indian Lok Sabha speaker Meira Kumar thanked the chief minister for the lunch and appreciated the love that the visitors had received in Lahore.
The two dignitaries also engaged in an ‘impromptu’ recital of poetry, which was initiated by Meira Kumar. At the end, Kumar said she was “very impressed” with the chief minister’s taste in poetry.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 26th, 2012.