Islamabad, July 17: Hailing the decision of India and Pakistan to resume dialogue, media here today said credit must go to both sides for “seizing the moment and breaking the impasse” and that they should build on the “breakthrough” achieved in the meeting between the two Prime Ministers.
The influential Dawn newspaper, in an editorial titled “A Step Forward”, said “considerable give and take” will be required by both countries in the days to come.
“Credit must go to both sides for seizing the moment and breaking the impasse. Instead of describing the outcome of the meeting as some kind of victory for Pakistan we would do well to hail India’s timely recognition that terrorism and militancy should not be allowed to come in the way of improved relations,” it said.
Following the meeting between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Pakistani counterpart Yousuf Raza Gilani yesterday on the sidelines of the NAM Summit in Egypt, India and Pakistan agreed to cooperate in fighting terrorism and announced tentative steps aimed at resuming talks that were suspended in the wake of the Mumbai attacks in November 2007.
The Nation, in an editorial titled “The Core Issue”, said Gilani’s observation during the NAM summit that there could be no lasting peace in the region unless the issue of Kashmir is resolved should be heeded by the Indian leadership.
Bilateral relations cannot improve “if India sticks to an erroneous kind of thinking that Islamabad is in cahoots with the militants”, it cautioned.
–Agencies