Islamabad, February 06: India and Pakistan should end their “long legacy of hostility and distrust” and work towards a peaceful resolution of the Kashmir issue, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said on Friday.
“There is an imperative need to end the long legacy of hostility and distrust and to work towards a peaceful resolution of the Kashmir issue in accordance with the wishes of the people of Jammu and Kashmir,” Gilani said in his address at an official function to mark Kashmir Solidarity Day.
Gilani said Kashmir remained “an unfinished agenda” and “unfulfilled promises over the years have taken a heavy toll on the Kashmiri people.”
The premier noted that India and Pakistan had had a “constructive” engagement under the composite dialogue process before the Mumbai attacks and “Jammu and Kashmir is an important part of that dialogue.”
“Unfortunately, in the wake of the Mumbai terrorist attack, India has put a pause on the composite dialogue process.
We have reiterated our desire to engage India in a meaningful and result-oriented dialogue for resoling all outstanding issues,” he said.
Gilani pointed out that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had agreed during a meeting in Sharm el-Shiekh last year that dialogue is the only way forward.
–PTI