Islamabad, Nov 23: Seeking to improve relations with India, Pakistan Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali tonight announced a ceasefire on the Line of Control (LoC) from Eid day, which is likely on November 26, and expected India to respond positively. In a televised address to the nation marking completion of his first year in office, Jamali said Pakistan Army has already been ordered to stop firing from Eid-ul-Fitr, marking the end of the fasting holy month of Ramadan.
"Our troops deployed along the line of control have been ordered to display complete ceasefire from the day of Eid. I expect India will make a positive response to our announcement because without this our step will be incomplete," he said.
Jamali also responded positively to a number of other peace initiatives recently unveiled by India.
The Pakistan Prime minister`s announcement came less than two months before the Saarc summit scheduled to be held in Islamabad in January next.
Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf had in August this year proposed that his country could negotiate a truce with India along the LoC but New Delhi at that time had dismissed the offer saying it was meaningless as Islamabad continued to sponsor cross-border terrorism.
Hoping that Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee would attend the Saarc summit in January, Jamali said the coming event would "open a new chapter" in regional cooperation.
"Pakistan is interested to live in peace with India and was waiting for the participation of Atal Bihari Vajpayee in the summit," Jamali said adding "with strong political commitment, Pakistan and India could change the atmosphere of confrontation."
Acknowledging there are a number of hurdles in the way but well thought-out steps are needed to be taken to restore mutual confidence and to set directions for the resolution of Kashmir and other problems.
Bureau Report