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News

Pak regime change offers new hope for ties- Envoy


Date:- 28 Jul 2018


Sachin Parashar    

With Imran Khan and his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) certain to form the new government, Pakistan has described the election outcome as a moment of hope and opportunity in Indo-Pak relations which needed to be seized and not squandered.

In an exclusive interaction with TOI, Pakistan high commissioner Sohail

Mahmood said the need to replace “old lenses” and to rethink the entrenched narratives of the past, cannot be stressed enough.

Mahmood’s comments follow Khan’s India outreach in his victory speech in which he, while underlining the significance of the Kashmir issue for Pakistan, had said that Pakistan was prepared to take two steps forward if India took one for normalisation of ties.

‘This is moment of hope in India-Pak ties’

There is a new reality in Pakistan,” Mahmood said in his first comments since the poll results.

“I hope the media and experts would help enhance the space for diplomacy and dialogue. This is another moment of hope and opportunity in India-Pakistan relations. It needs to be seized, not squandered. We must guard against disbelief or cynicism and employ the power of positive thinking,” he added.

Mahmood said this was the time to consider dialogue and other forms of “meaningful engagement” to address outstanding disputes.

“Hopefully, the cause of meaningful engagement, mutual trust-building, dialogue to resolve disputes, and a peaceful and prosperous future would be supported for the common good of the two countries and the people of South Asia,” he said.

India has so far not officially reacted to the outcome of the Pakistan elections and, off the record, officials have sounded unsure about how, if at all, it could affect ties. Some of it has got to do with the perception that Khan, because he owes his success to the army, will be reduced to doing its bidding.

This though is vehemently denied by the Pakistanis. A Pakistani diplomat who didn’t wish to be quoted, as reported by TOI on Friday, had said that Khan, unlike Sharif, had a clean image and didn’t suffer from a credibility deficit and so he was going to be backed by all institutions, including the army. Khan is also said to have appealed more to the youth and women. Pakistan has been quick to point out to comments by India’s former chief election commissioner S Y Quraishi on an Indian news channel that the elections were free, fair and transparent. Quraishi, who was in Pakistan as a member of the Commonwealth Observation Group, had also said that the presence of army jawans at polling booths was “innocuous”.

Results pointing to a more diverse support base for Khan is seen as suggesting Khan’s success is not a fluke and he’s here to stay. His credentials are buttressed by the fact this is possibly the first time an incumbent government (PTI) has returned to power in KP province.

With Imran Khan and his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) certain to form the new government, Pakistan has described the election outcome as a moment of hope and opportunity in Indo-Pak relations which needed to be seized and not squandered.

In an exclusive interaction with TOI, Pakistan high commissioner Sohail

Mahmood said the need to replace “old lenses” and to rethink the entrenched narratives of the past, cannot be stressed enough.

Mahmood’s comments follow Khan’s India outreach in his victory speech in which he, while underlining the significance of the Kashmir issue for Pakistan, had said that Pakistan was prepared to take two steps forward if India took one for normalisation of ties.

‘This is moment of hope in India-Pak ties’

There is a new reality in Pakistan,” Mahmood said in his first comments since the poll results.

“I hope the media and experts would help enhance the space for diplomacy and dialogue. This is another moment of hope and opportunity in India-Pakistan relations. It needs to be seized, not squandered. We must guard against disbelief or cynicism and employ the power of positive thinking,” he added.

Mahmood said this was the time to consider dialogue and other forms of “meaningful engagement” to address outstanding disputes.

“Hopefully, the cause of meaningful engagement, mutual trust-building, dialogue to resolve disputes, and a peaceful and prosperous future would be supported for the common good of the two countries and the people of South Asia,” he said.

India has so far not officially reacted to the outcome of the Pakistan elections and, off the record, officials have sounded unsure about how, if at all, it could affect ties. Some of it has got to do with the perception that Khan, because he owes his success to the army, will be reduced to doing its bidding.

This though is vehemently denied by the Pakistanis. A Pakistani diplomat who didn’t wish to be quoted, as reported by TOI on Friday, had said that Khan, unlike Sharif, had a clean image and didn’t suffer from a credibility deficit and so he was going to be backed by all institutions, including the army. Khan is also said to have appealed more to the youth and women. Pakistan has been quick to point out to comments by India’s former chief election commissioner S Y Quraishi on an Indian news channel that the elections were free, fair and transparent. Quraishi, who was in Pakistan as a member of the Commonwealth Observation Group, had also said that the presence of army jawans at polling booths was “innocuous”.

Results pointing to a more diverse support base for Khan is seen as suggesting Khan’s success is not a fluke and he’s here to stay. His credentials are buttressed by the fact this is possibly the first time an incumbent government (PTI) has returned to power in KP province.

Sachin.Parashar@timesgroup.com

DISCLAIMER:

The views expressed in the Article above are Author’s personal views and kashmiribhatta.in is not responsible for the opinions expressed in the above article.

Courtesy: Times Of India :  Jul 28, 2018