Pakistan’s High Commissioner said political and military tensions prevented the two countries from realising their optimal potential in development
Sohail Mahmood (Photo: Twitter)
The incoming civilian government will accord high priority to peaceful relations with India and other neighbouring countries as outlined by it in its foreign policy vision, Pakistan’s High Commissioner to India Sohail Mahmood said on Tuesday.
Speaking at a function at the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi to mark the 72nd Independence Day of his country, he said the phone call by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan, who is set to become Pakistan Prime Minister, was a positive development. It had raised hopes that such steps on both sides would create the space for betterment of ties between India and Pakistan.
The High Commissioner observed that the peculiar trajectory of India-Pakistan relations over the past 71 years had often led to political and military tensions and prevented the two countries from realising their optimal potential in socio-economic development.
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“Our next generations deserve a better future – one marked by peace and opportunities for progress and prosperity,” he said. He hoped that South Asia would turn a corner and would be known in the world, not for confrontation, but for cooperation.
Mahmood noted that this Independence Day coincided with another milestone on Pakistan’s democratic journey. Another democratically-elected government had completed its constitutional term. Another peaceful transfer of power to another elected government was on the anvil.
He underlined that Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan, had envisioned a democratic, modern, moderate and economically-strong Islamic welfare state. Each successive generation had contributed to the realisation of his vision, he said.
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