Opposition People's Democratic Party chief Mehbooba Mufti has hailed Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's decision to extend invitations to Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yousuf Reza Gilani to watch the India-Pakistan semi final of the International Cricket Council Cricket World Cup at Mohali on March 30.
In a statement issued on Saturday, Mehooba Mufti exuded confidence that 'this gesture would help in bringing in positive change in this sub-continent'.
"Though the step is a small in nature, it could act as a catalyst to improve the relations between two countries leading to a formal dialogue at highest level", she said and hoped that 'this step would help in breaking the ice and to resume the dialogue process which had been stalled since 2008 after some unfortunate events'.
Hoping that 'this small gesture would give an impetus to the process of normalisation of bilateral ties' between the two countries, the PDP chief said that 'the people of Jammu and Kashmir were hopeful that this development would have a positive impact on the situation in the state.'
Recalling the 2003 cricket match between India and Pakistan at Lahore, the PDP chief said the then Pakistan President General Parvez Musharraf had extending invitation to Indian leadership at time. "A large number of people from India had gone to watch that match and that the development had helped in opening channel of communication between civil society of both the countries."
She further said that 'extending invitation to watch cricket match was a welcome step but much more needed to be done because any confrontation between the two countries were not in the interest of the people of sub-continent in general and Jammu and Kashmir in particular'.
Mehbooba pointed out that 'Indo-Pak cooperation was the key to resolving the region's problems so both the countries have to show maturity in the interest of the people.
