Indo-Pak peace talks to help resolve issues: CM

Staff Report

LAHORE: Peace talks between Pakistan and India should continue to resolve thorny issues, said Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi, the Punjab chief minister, on Sunday.

Talking to Inder Kumar Gujral, the former Indian prime minister, he said that both countries should fight poverty and backwardness together. “Dialogue is the best way to resolve issues and the time has come to forget the bitterness of the past,” Mr Elahi said.

He called for a greater people-to-people contact to ensure the success of peace negotiations between the governments. He said President Pervez Musharraf was playing a historic role to resolve regional issues through dialogue and mutual understanding. He said the Punjab government was identifying and preserving historical sites in Lahore, Jhelum and other areas in the province.

Mr Gujral said Gen Musharraf was moving in the right direction to restore peace in the region. He said it was a matter of satisfaction that both countries were showing flexibility in their stances.

He said Lahore was an important city and called upon India and Pakistan to protect their historical sites. Earlier National Assembly Speaker, Chaudhry Ameer Hussain, Federal Minister for Food and Agriculture, Sikandar Bosan, Minister of State for the Interior, Senator Dr Shehzad Waseem, Minister of State for Railways, Ishaq Khaqwani, and State Minister for Education, Ghulam Bibi Bharwana, separately called on the Punjab chief minister and discussed various matters.

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