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Indian PM greets Gillani, hopes for ‘best ever’ Indo-Pak relations

* Manmohan Singh says he hopes to work with new Pak government ‘expeditiously towards agreed solutions of pending issues’

By Iftikhar Gilani

NEW DELHI: Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday greeted Pakistan’s new premier Yousuf Raza Gillani on assuming office in Islamabad and said he hoped that, under a democratically elected government, relations between India and Pakistan would become the "best ever".

Singh also asked the new prime minister to take a queue from his predecessors and President Pervez Musharraf to build on the peace process. He said that he hoped to work with the new government "expeditiously towards agreed solutions of pending issues".

A Prime Minister Office (PMO) spokesman said both leaders talked on telephone. "Dr Singh expressed the hope that India-Pakistan relations can evolve to become the ‘best ever’ and he also hoped Mr Gillani would build on the initiatives taken by his predecessors, former prime ministers Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif and also that of President Pervez Musharraf, to improve bilateral relations," he said.

Earlier, Singh also wrote a letter to Gillani. Affirming his government's commitment to strengthening friendship and cooperation with Pakistan, Singh wrote that a stable, prosperous and democratic Pakistan was in the interest of India and the region.

He said strong public sentiment in both countries demands accelerating the peace process and establishing a cooperative framework for bilateral relations. "There is a common desire to establish a neighbourhood of peace and progress based on greater linkages between our two people, trust and mutual understanding," he wrote.

The Indian prime minister acknowledged the contribution of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leaders towards the peace process. "Leading personalities of the coalition that will form your government have been strong advocates of friendly ties between our two countries and have made important contributions to the peace process," wrote Singh.

He said both countries could build on the progress already achieved and work expeditiously, through the dialogue process, towards agreed solutions of pending issues. "We have an opportunity to transform our relationship into the close, cooperative and mutually beneficial partnership that should be normal between neighbours like India and Pakistan. I look forward to working closely with you towards an objective that I am confident you share."

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