Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari has said the time has come for India and Pakistan to show greater understanding of each other’s concerns and sensitivities and to “move beyond reiteration of their positions to more substantive results” in the peace process.
Finding amicable and just solutions to resolve outstanding issues was important for Pakistan and India to ensure lasting peace and stability in the region, he said.
Zardari made the remarks during his meeting with visiting External Affairs Minister S. M. Krishna at the presidency last night.
Zardari “emphasised that it was time for the two countries to move beyond reiteration of their positions to more substantive results,” presidential spokesman Farhatullah Babar said.
“Showing greater understanding of each other’s concerns and sensitivities would help in the solutions of mutual issues,” Zardari said.
He further said the two countries “must not allow the derailment of the normalisation process.”
In this regard, Zardari suggested the revival of the Joint Anti-Terrorism Mechanism comprising representatives of the foreign ministries, home and interior ministries and intelligence agencies of the two countries.
Multifaceted cooperation between the two sides is imperative for the socio-economic development of people and to cope with the “common enemy” of terrorism, he said.
Pointing to the need to fight terrorism jointly, Zardari said Pakistan “stood resolute to fight it till the finish.”
Zardari renewed his call for India and Pakistan to make determined efforts for “friendly, cooperative and good neighbourly relations” and for “treading the path of productive and result-oriented dialogue.”