Indore, Aug 12: India should continue to extend medical aid to Pakistani children as such gestures would foster friendship between New Delhi and Islamabad, veteran actor and sitting Congress MP Sunil Dutt said here today. Dutt, who is leading a Sadbhavna Yatra, on being questioned whether he would undertake a similar yatra to Pakistan to promote harmony between the two nations, said "efforts like helping the Pakistani children by providing them medical assistance will help a lot as the gesture showed by the country has generated a lot of goodwill."

Dutt said he had met Noor Fatima and her parents in Bangalore, where she was operated on for plugging hole in her heart. On the issue of undertaking a Sadbhavna Yatra to Pakistan, Dutt said first he would concentrate on creating Sadbhavna in the country itself as he firmly believed that unity was the most important aspect for the country.

"Incidents like Godhra and atrocities on Dalit in Haryana are not good for the country," he said adding these incidents would not have taken place if there was unity among people.

The Sadbhavna Ke Sipahi Yatra was launched from the historic August Kranti Maidan in Mumbai on August 9. It will cover Karnataka, Jammu and Kashmir, Chhattisgarh Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Delhi and will culminate on August 20.

Bureau Report