Indo-Pak peace process should be irreversible: Pak diplomat
As his stint comes to an end, Pakistan High Commissioner to India Shahid Malik on Tuesday said there was a "window of opportunity" that should be seized by the two neighbours to make the Indo-Pak peace process "irreversible". Asserting that all "important stakeholders" in his country were "on board" for the peace initiative, Malik, the longest-serving Pakistan High Commissioner here, said this was the "best time to take advantage of the situation because unfortunately the window of opportunity in India and Pakistan relations is not very long.......".
The normalistation of relations between India and Pakistan is not only of "critical importance" to both countries but also for the peace and stability in the region, said Malik, who has been here for over five years now. He also noted that the two countries were aware of each others' strength and could "complement and supplement" each other to create a win-win situation. Observing that there was a lot of potential in the economic sector, the outgoing Pakistan High Commissioner said the two countries need to cover a lot of ground on this front.
He said the two countries were having discussions on eight segments ranging from bilateral trade to Sir Creek to Siachen and four segments have been deliberated upon as part of the second round of talks between them. He also talked about the "cricket diplomacy" saying it was very important in this part of the world. The two cricketing boards are discussing the possibility of resuming Indo-Pak cricket ties, he said, adding decks have already been cleared for the inclusion of a team from Pakistan in the Champions League Twenty-20 for the first time since the event's inception.