Srinagar, Nov 10: Former Chief Minister and patron of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Mufti Muhammad Sayeed on Thursday welcomed outcome of talks between Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh and Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani  at Addu in Maldives on the sidelines of the 17th SAARC summit today.
 Addressing a meeting of party workers here Sayeed hailed decision of both the countries to start bilateral trade on Most Favoured Nation (MFN) basis.
 He said that since its formation PDP has been advocating for dialogue with Pakistan and the party though its conviction had earlier convinced both India and Pakistan to start dialogue process.
 He said PDP has always reiterated that bilateral relations between two countries should be the main focus. “Announcement made after today’s meeting is another step towards carrying forward the peace process and building of trust between the two neighbours that is important for finding a lasting solution to Jammu and Kashmir,” he added.
 Mufti said the vision of PDP of a tension free South Asia will receive a boost with the concrete measures announced especially with regard to the cross LOC travel and trade.
 He said the historic initiative taken by the two governments in 2005 might have remained largely symbolic but it is now unfolding the ultimate vision that had inspired the beginning of Karvan-e-Aman between Srinagar and Muzaffarbad.  He hoped that the process of dialogue would be continued for establishing lasting peace in this region.
 He said that declaration of Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh has come at that time  when both the countries are writing a “new chapter” in the history of sub continent. “India decision to move towards a Preferential Trade Agreement with Pakistan under SAFTA will lead to zero customs duty on all traded goods by 2016. It is a welcome step,” he said.
 Taking a dig at state government for its "failure to keep a check on corruption", he said that the present regime has no right to talk about containing corruption because this dispensation has legalized it.

Lastupdate on : Thu, 10 Nov 2011 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Thu, 10 Nov 2011 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Fri, 11 Nov 2011 00:00:00 IST