Islamabad, November 23
Seeking to improve relations with India, Pakistan Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali tonight announced a ceasefire on the Line of Control (LoC) from Id which is likely to fall on November 26, and expected India to respond positively.
In a televised address to the nation marking the completion of his first year in the office, Mr Jamali said the Pakistani Army had already been ordered to stop firing from Id-ul-Fitar, marking the end of the fasting holy month of Ramzan.
“Our troops deployed along the Line of Control have been ordered to display complete ceasefire from Id. I expect India will make a positive response to our announcement because without this our step will be incomplete,” he said.
Mr Jamali also responded positively to a number of other peace initiatives recently unveiled by India.
The Pakistani Prime Minister’s announcement came less than two months before the SAARC summit scheduled to be held in Islamabad in January next.
Mr Jamali also proposed bus service between Lahore and Amritsar and said additional buses on the Lahore-Delhi route could be discussed. He said a notification was being issued for citizens of the two countries above 65 years to cross the Wagah border on foot.
He also proposed that Home Ministries of Pakistan and India should find ways to resolve the problems of prisoners jailed in each other’s countries, especially those who had served their term but could not be sent back to their countries.
The Prime Minister said it would be a welcome step if India released such prisoners before Id so that they could celebrate the festival in their own country.
Mr Jamali invited India to initiate talks on the modalities and other related matters for starting the bus service and offered to host a meeting in this regard.
Hoping that Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee would attend the SAARC summit in January, Mr Jamali said the coming event would “open a new chapter” in regional cooperation.
“Pakistan is interested to live in peace with India and was waiting for the participation of Mr Vajpayee in the summit,” Mr Jamali said adding that “with strong political commitment, Pakistan and India could change the atmosphere of confrontation”.
— PTI
