Lahore: Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar has claimed that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is ready to ‘walk the extra mile’ on all outstanding issues between the two countries.
Khar said the Indian Prime Minister had also accepted an invitation to visit Pakistan.
“Their message is that India wants a stable Pakistan. The effort is to converge on mutually agreed points despite divergently stated positions,” Khar was quoted, as saying by The Nation.
The foreign minister said that there was an emerging need for reducing tensions between the two countries after the Mumbai attacks.
“We can safely say that a new era of engagement, understanding, confronting the challenges and relations to continue has begun,” Khar said.
“Both countries are moving ahead though they can have different outlooks. We are willing to face all challenges,” she added.
Khar also mentioned that she had held meetings with the Kashmiri separatist leaders much to the disliking of the Indians and their media.
She also said that both sides had agreed to continue the dialogue process and were looking forward to resolve all outstanding issues.
“Relations between Pakistan and India will be taking a new direction since the Indian government has shown its determination to continue towards resolving issues,” Khar said.
About Mumbai attacks and belligerence of the Indian media, Khar said that it was important to reduce tensions between the two countries, despite existence of harshness on both sides of the border.
ANI
First Published: Friday, July 29, 2011, 12:06