Queen tells India, Pak to stop bickering and work together

Queen Elizabeth II of Britain on Wednesday called upon India and Pakistan to set aside their ''historic differences'' and work together for peace and development in the region.

Mutual contacts have always brought prosperity to nations, she said, addressing the joint session of Pakistan's parliament.

''Both countries should review their relations in this 50th year of independence. There are few regions of the world where development is so acutely needed as the subcontinent,'' the queen said.

On the recent talks between the two sides towards this end, she said, ''Reconciliation will take time but the effort must be made."

''We all know from experience that animosity retards development, that development requires trust, that lack of trust closes off opportunities,'' she said urging leaders of the two countries to do more to bring prosperity to the region through lifting of mutual barriers.

The queen and her husband Prince Philip arrived in Pakistan on Tuesday on their tour of the subcontinent.

Calling the death of her daughter-in-law Princess Diana's death as ''tragic'', the queen on Tuesday paid tribute to her fund-raising efforts in Pakistan.

Diana twice travelled to Pakistan to help raise money for a cancer hospital, founded by Pakistan's former cricket captain Imran Khan. The Shahnum Khanum cancer hospital, a memorial to Khan's mother who died of cancer, offers free treatment to thousands of Pakistan's poorest. Diana had spent hours comforting some of the hospital's youngest patients.

''I pay tribute here to the work in Pakistan during the life of Diana, Princess of Wales,'' the queen said in a speech at a dinner hosted by Pakistan President Farooq Leghari.

''It has been a source of comfort and strength to know that people around the world, including here, have shared our grief at Diana's tragic, early death,'' she said.